ounty c ao m arvesting pepper in h ea o The 116 50 YRS s...
2
WWF.ORG.HK • MY pandaS • ISSue 3 COVER IMAGE: © BIOSPHOTOKLEIN & HUBERT SPECIALIST STOCK THIS PAGE: © MICHEL GUNTHER / WWF-CANON protecting the panda’s forest home Sustainability Climate Change Conservation YOUR ADOPTION UPDATE My pandas pandas in numbers >60 Pandas munch on more than 60 different species of bamboo. X2 Pandas often give birth to twins. 1.3 BIllIon There are more than 1.3 billion people living in China. 4,100 MeTReS Pandas live at heights of up to 4,100m above sea level. Page 5 ChIneSe SYMBol WWF volunteers promoted pepper in Carrefour for their produce. But it was difficult to find buyers and in the first two years, Mr He spent all of his life savings just keeping the association going. Then, he joined WWF’s Alternative Livelihood project, which helps to support local growers. It’s one of a number of innovative projects funded by supporters like you. Giant appeal 20% The peppeR GRoweRS now eaRn 20% MoRe InCoMe This is the Chinese symbol for panda, pronounced ‘shyong mao’. The Chinese call the panda ‘cat bear’. Perhaps it’s because pandas climb trees and their pupils have vertical slits like cats’ eyes. © WWF CHINA Name: Zhu Xiong (pronounced Ju Shong) Species: Giant panda Location: Minshan mountains, central China Project location © NATUREPL.COM/EDWIN GIESBERS / WWF Minshan mountains Page 2 © CHRIS HAILS / WWF-CANON MY PANDAS FIELD REPORT It’s easy to see why giant pandas like Zhu Xiong are loved by people all over the world. Their distinctive white faces and oval, black eye patches are instantly recognisable and appealing. In China, the giant panda is a national symbol, and this gentle, solitary creature has a special connection with WWF too. Fifty years ago we chose the panda as our logo – to symbolise our work to safeguard our natural world. And it’s been a major part of our organisation ever since, not just as a symbol but also a conservation priority. We’ve been working in China since 1980, and have ouR laSTInG SYMBol oF hope Page 3 Giant pandas are loved all over the world an unusual bear made huge progress. That includes the creation of a network of reserves, covering 60% of the panda’s habitat. The giant panda is an unusual member of the bear family. It has the digestive system of a meat-eater, but lives almost entirely on bamboo. The trouble with bamboo is that it’s low in nutrients, so pandas have to chomp their way through loads of the stuff. Like all pandas, their back teeth are broad and flat to help crush and eat the twiggy bamboo shoots. Amazingly, the distance between their back teeth is unique to every panda, and means that each panda bites bamboo at a different length. This gives panda survey teams an interesting way of identifying individual pandas – they fish out and measure the bamboo shards left in panda poo. As you can imagine, things can get slightly messy! 50 YRS The GIanT panda haS Been wwF’S loGo FoR 50 YeaRS MY PANDAS NEWS peppeR poweR Our successful project in China is not to be sneezed at! Page 4 © WWF CHINA Harvesting pepper in Mao County protecting the forest Just a few years ago He Youxing was pretty much unknown to his fellow villagers in Mao County, in the Sichuan province of China. That changed in 2008, when he secured a 3 million yuan (around £275,000) deal to sell Sichuan pepper to retail giant Carrefour. The deal was part of a groundbreaking WWF project that’s improving the lives of local pepper farmers and reducing the pressure on giant panda habitats. Sichuan pepper is a key ingredient in traditional Chinese cooking. It’s also an important source of income for the pepper growers living in and around the Minshan mountain range in the Sichuan Province, home to your adopted panda Zhu Xiong. 116 MR he’S peppeR Co-op now SupplIeS 116 CaRReFouR SToReS In ChIna s Until recently, pepper farmers had to go through middlemen to sell their peppers – and ended up getting only a small proportion of the total income. The only way for the farmers and their families to earn more money was to collect from the forest. They chopped down trees for firewood and collected medicinal plants and wild vegetables – activities that disturb and can even destroy vital panda habitats. We needed to find a way to help them earn a living that would also protect the panda’s forest home. In 2005 Mr He formed a pepper association, to provide training for farmers and to try and get a better price We introduced Mr He’s pepper association to Carrefour, the second largest retailer in the world. It was to be the start of an amazing success story. In 2007 the association sold 13 tons of pepper to the supermarket giant. In 2008 we helped Mr He upgrade his association to a cooperative – a relatively new way of working in China. Since then, the Sichuan Mao County Pepper Cooperative has gone from strength to strength. The 3 million yuan deal was won in its first year and the cooperative now supplies pepper to more than 116 Carrefour stores in 32 cities around China. Hundreds of local pepper growers have flocked to join the cooperative, and are now enjoying higher pepper prices along with a cut of the profits – on average, each family’s annual income has increased by 20%. The Mao county residents no longer have to take wood and plants from the forests to help them get by, and the giant panda’s future is looking a little brighter. © 1986 Panda symbol WWF “WWF” is a WWF Registered Trademark WWF-Hong Kong, No. 1 Tramway Path, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2526 1011, Fax: (852) 2845 2734, Email: [email protected]
Transcript of ounty c ao m arvesting pepper in h ea o The 116 50 YRS s...
WWF.ORG.HK• MY pandaS • ISSue 3
co
ve
r im
ag
e: ©
Bio
sp
ho
toK
lein
& h
uB
er
t sp
ec
ialis
t sto
cK
this
pag
e: ©
mic
he
l gu
nth
er
/ WW
F-ca
no
n
protecting the panda’s forest home
SustainabilityClimate ChangeConservation
YOUR ADOPTION UPDATE
My pandaspandas in numbers
>60Pandas munch on more than 60 different species of bamboo.
X2Pandas often give birth to twins.
1.3 BIllIonThere are more than 1.3 billion people living in China.
4,100 MeTReSPandas live at heights of up to 4,100m above sea level.
Page 5
ChIneSe SYMBol
WWF volunteers promoted pepper in carrefour
for their produce. But it was difficult to find buyers and in the first two years, Mr He spent all of his life savings just keeping the association going. Then, he joined WWF’s Alternative Livelihood project, which helps to support local growers. It’s one of a number of innovative projects funded by supporters like you.
Giant appeal
20%The peppeR GRoweRS now eaRn 20% MoRe InCoMe
This is the Chinese symbol for panda, pronounced ‘shyong mao’. The Chinese call the panda ‘cat bear’. Perhaps it’s because pandas climb trees and their pupils have vertical slits like cats’ eyes.
© W
WF c
hin
a
name: Zhu Xiong (pronounced Ju shong)
species: giant panda
location: minshan mountains, central china
project location
© n
atu
re
pl.
co
m/e
dW
in g
ies
Be
rs
/ W
WF
minshan mountains
Page 2
© c
hr
is h
ail
s /
WW
F-c
an
on
mY pandas Field report
It’s easy to see why giant pandas like Zhu Xiong are loved by people all over the world. Their distinctive white faces and oval, black eye patches are instantly recognisable and appealing.
In China, the giant panda is a national symbol, and this gentle, solitary creature has a special connection with WWF too. Fifty years ago we chose the panda as our logo – to symbolise our work to safeguard our natural world. And it’s been a major part of our organisation ever since, not just as a symbol but also a conservation priority. We’ve been working in China since 1980, and have
ouR laSTInG SYMBol oF hope
Page 3
giant pandas are loved all over the world
an unusual bear
made huge progress. That includes the creation of a network of reserves, covering 60% of the panda’s habitat.
The giant panda is an unusual member of the bear family. It has the digestive system of a meat-eater, but lives almost entirely on bamboo. The trouble
with bamboo is that it’s low in nutrients, so pandas have to chomp their way through loads of the stuff. Like all pandas, their back teeth are broad and flat to help crush and eat the twiggy bamboo shoots. Amazingly, the distance between their back teeth is unique to every panda, and means that each panda bites bamboo at a different length. This gives panda survey teams an interesting way of identifying individual pandas – they fish out and measure the bamboo shards left in panda poo. As you can imagine, things can get slightly messy!
50 YRS The GIanT panda haS Been wwF’S loGo FoR 50 YeaRS
mY pandas neWs
peppeR poweROur successful project in China is not to be sneezed at!
Page 4
© W
WF
ch
ina
harvesting pepper in mao county
protecting the forest
Just a few years ago He Youxing was pretty much unknown to his fellow villagers in Mao County, in the Sichuan province of China. That changed in 2008, when he secured a 3 million yuan (around £275,000) deal to sell Sichuan pepper to retail giant Carrefour. The deal was part of a groundbreaking WWF project that’s improving the lives of local pepper farmers and
reducing the pressure on giant panda habitats.
Sichuan pepper is a key ingredient in traditional Chinese cooking. It’s also an important source of income for the pepper growers living in and around the Minshan mountain range in the Sichuan Province, home to your adopted panda Zhu Xiong.
116 MR he’S peppeR Co-op now SupplIeS 116 CaRReFouR SToReS In ChIna
s
Until recently, pepper farmers had to go through middlemen to sell their peppers – and ended up getting only a small proportion of the total income. The only way for the farmers and their families to earn more money was to collect from the
forest. They chopped down trees for firewood and collected medicinal plants and wild vegetables – activities that disturb and can even destroy vital panda habitats. We needed to find a way to help them earn a living that would also protect the panda’s forest home.
In 2005 Mr He formed a pepper association, to provide training for farmers and to try and get a better price
We introduced Mr He’s pepper association to Carrefour, the second largest retailer in the world. It was to be the start of an amazing success story. In 2007 the association sold 13 tons of pepper to the supermarket giant. In 2008 we helped Mr He upgrade his association to a cooperative – a relatively new way of working in China. Since then, the Sichuan Mao County Pepper Cooperative has gone from strength to strength. The 3 million yuan deal was won in its first year and the cooperative now supplies pepper to more than 116 Carrefour stores in 32 cities around China.
Hundreds of local pepper growers have flocked to join the cooperative, and
are now enjoying higher pepper prices along with a cut of the profits – on average, each family’s annual income has increased by 20%. The Mao county residents no longer have to take wood and plants from the forests to help them get by, and the giant panda’s future is looking a little brighter.
© 1986 panda symbol WWF “WWF” is a WWF registered trademark
WWF-hong Kong, no. 1 tramway path, central, hong Kong.
tel: (852) 2526 1011, Fax: (852) 2845 2734, email: [email protected]
© g
et
tY
BeauTY woRTh pRoTeCTInGThe peaceful panda. Solitary, gentle, yet incredibly vulnerable to habitat loss. Here at WWF we’re doing everything we can to protect the panda’s last remaining habitats from threats like deforestation. Not only does this degrade and destroy its home, it releases greenhouse gases, one of the causes of climate change.
wwf.org.hk
