HONG KONG
THE giant panda may be reclassified from "endangered" to
"vulnerable" as the species' population in the wild increases, Hong
Kong's South China Morning Post reported yesterday, citing a
source.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources (IUCN) was considering changing the universally
loved animal's ranking on its red list of threatened species, the
source was cited as saying by the Post.
IUCN is the leading authority on the extinction risk facing the
world's threatened species, and classifies the danger into seven
categories. The giant panda was first listed as an endangered
species in 1990.
Currently, the panda is deemed at high risk of dying off in the
wild, although the review could see it moved down one rung, to
"high risk of endangerment", the source said.
A scientific assessment of the giant-panda population size and
habitat commissioned by the IUCN was completed a year ago, but an
official decision has yet to be made.
"Scientifically, the wild population is increasing, and the
natural habitat is expanding," the source said according to the
Post.
Last week, the forestry department in China's southern province
of Sichuan, the natural home of giant pandas, released figures
showing that the number of wild giant pandas in the province had
risen 15 per cent in the past 10 years, to 1,387.
However, Lu Zhi, a professor of conservation biology at Peking
University, said that the encouraging figures belied
"fragmentation" threatening the species' habitat, whereby intense
human activities cut large swathes of land into smaller and more
isolated patches.
"Even though the overall area of habitat is expanding, we're
actually losing the best ones," Prof Lu said according to the
Post.
"I'd hope any decision will be made very cautiously. It's better
to be conservative than regretful someday."