Wolong Panda and Conservation Institute



In March 2002, the U.S.-China Environmental Fund (USCEF), an international conservation NGO, and the Wolong Nature Reserve (WNR) Administration began discussions to establish an international training and education facility adjacent to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. This Center is the main destination for visitors to WNR and is the home to the largest captive population of Giant Pandas and the most successful panda breeding facility. By September 2002, USCEF prepared a Master Plan for an international training and education center (including an ecolodge) that was approved by WNR and endorsed by the State Forestry Administration. In January 2005, the Sichuan Wolong Panda Eco-Education Company (a wholly foreign owned enterprise registered by USCEF) obtained 50-year land use rights to establish “Panda Mountain,” an integrated ecotourism destination that will have an ecolodge, restaurants, tea house, related retail operations, educational ecotours, and experiential learning and training conservation institute.

Photo: Jesse Walcutt

The mission of the USCEF managed Wolong Panda and Conservation Institute is to assure future sustainability of wild Giant Panda populations and to conserve the sensitive ecosystems on which they depend. Recognizing that people occupy and depend on forests where pandas live, the Wolong Panda and Conservation Institute (Wolong Institute) will foster international cooperation for ecologically sound economic development, and cultural preservation projects in the Wolong Nature Reserve and the surrounding Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary, a proposed World Heritage Site.

Photo: Jesse Walcutt

All education and training activities at the Wolong Institute will be coordinated as part of a Wolong Integrated Conservation and Development Program that will be implemented through coordination with the WNR Administration, other protected areas of the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary, and supervising government units such as the Sichuan Forestry Bureau or the Management Office for the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary.

The Wolong Integrated Conservation and Development Program

The Wolong Integrated Conservation and Development program (Wolong ICAD) will have three main, interdependent components: biodiversity conservation, local economic development, and cultural preservation. To build a strong foundation for the Wolong ICAD program’s long-term success, the three main program components will be implemented in an integrated and multidisciplinary manner. USCEF has already recruited internationally recognized and accomplished expertise in environmental management, conservation, education and training programs for national parks and nature reserves from around the world and China.

The Wolong Institute will focus on education and training programs in both the Wolong Nature Reserve and the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary, a 9,500 sq/km region comprised of 15 protected areas that surround Wolong. To address the three main Wolong ICAD components ­– biodiversity conservation, local economic development, and cultural preservation – USCEF will coordinate multidisciplinary teams of international and Chinese experts, as well as protected area personnel on short and long term innovative programs within the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary (Sanctuary).

Integrated Conservation and Development Programs

Photo: Charlee Brown

I. Biodiversity Conservation

The Wolong Institute’s primary conservation objectives are to improve ecosystem management and to preserve and restore Giant Panda habitat throughout the Sanctuary. Activities that support these objectives will be, an integrated conservation planning program that utilizes comprehensive geographic information systems, monitoring of keystone species and ecological indicators, control of invasive species, improved environmental and watershed management practices, and support for Wolong’s new Giant Panda reintroduction program. In January 2006, USCEF received a grant from the National Geographic Society to help the Wolong Nature Reserve map and monitor Gianta Panda habitat.

II. Sustainable Eco-Economic Development

Working throughout the Sanctuary, the Wolong Institute will work in partnership with local communities, enterprises, NGOs, protected area administrations, and local government offices to evaluate, design, and promote sustainable, ecologically sound economic development strategies. The implementation of the Sustainable Eco-Economic Development (SEED) planning process will allow local communities to create alternative livelihoods that have a negligible or a restorative impact on the region’s ecological systems. The development of economic activities in sensitive buffer zones that support biodiversity conservation are key to conserve sensitive ecosystems on which the pandas depend. A primary objective of the SEED program is to integrate people’s desire for a better life with biodiversity conservation and eco-economic development. If the Sanctuary’s protected areas are to survive in the long term, local communities will need to believe the Sanctuary’s ecological integrity will be a source of economic benefit.

III. Preservation of Indigenous Culture

The Preservation of Indigenous Culture (PIC) Plan for the Sanctuary’s indigenous communities, will address three principle cultural preservation and enrichment issues: traditional character of the cultural landscape; lifeways of indigenous communities including their relationship to the natural resource base (through the SEED program); and the communities’ traditional values, beliefs, customs and language. Community assessments and a participatory approach will be used to have PIC activities reflect the interests and needs of the local indigenous communities.

Training Programs at the Wolong Institute

The Wolong Institute will provide the following types of training programs:

  • Certification Program for Protected Area Personnel
  • Master Teacher Trainings
  • Seminars for Conservation Professionals & Officials, Fellowships for Conservation Research
  • Workshops and Conferences for Environmental Officials and Professionals
  • Accredited Courses and Field Studies for University Students
  • Constructive Involvement and Education of Ecotourists