Conservation and community development

A win-win solution

It is only by effectively addressing the needs of local people and encouraging sustainable practices that we can hope to ensure the continued survival of the giant panda.

WWF and the provincial governments in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi have initiated community development projects in villages in the Minshan and Qinling Mountains.

Community development activities include:

• Providing the means for local villages to engage in alternative livelihoods and practices that increase their income and reduce the impact on the panda's habitat from environmentally damaging activities such as poaching and logging.
  
• Providing villages with alternative energy sources such as biogas and wood-saving stoves for cooking and heating. These systems also save people a lot of time, which they used to spend cutting down trees for firewood.
  
• Training and educating local communities and government officials on environmental issues and best practice for conservation reserach.