The Value of Ecosystem Services from Giant Panda Reserves

Fuwen Wei (Corresponding Author), Robert Costanza, Qiang Dai, Natalie Stoeckl, Xiaodong Gu, Stephen Farber, Yonggang Nie, Ida Kubiszewski, Yibo Hu, Ronald Swaisgood, Xuyu Yang, Michael Bruford, Youping Chen, A. Voinov, Dunwu Qi, Megan Owen, Li Yan, Daniel C. Kenny, Zejun Zhang, Rong Hou & 11 others Shiwei Jiang, Hongbo Liu, Xiangjiang Zhan, Li Zhang, Biao Yang, Lianjun Zhao, Xiaoguang Zheng, Wenliang Zhou, Yali Wen, Heran Gao, Wen Zhang

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Abstract

Ecosystem services (the benefits to humans from ecosystems) are estimated globally at $125 trillion/year [1, 2]. Similar assessments at national and regional scales show how these services support our lives [3]. All valuations recognize the role of biodiversity, which continues to decrease around the world in maintaining these services [4, 5]. The giant panda epitomizes the flagship species [6]. Its unrivalled public appeal translates into support for conservation funding and policy, including a tax on foreign visitors to support its conservation [7]. The Chinese government has established a panda reservesystem, which today numbers 67 reserves [8, 9]. The biodiversity of these reserves is among the highest in the temperate world [10], covering many of China’s endemic species [11]. The panda is thus also an umbrella species [12]—protecting panda habitat also protects other species. Despite the benefits derived from pandas, some journalists have suggested that it would be best to let the panda go extinct. With the recent down listing of the panda from Endangered to Vulnerable, it is clear that society’s investment has started to pay off in terms of panda population recovery [13, 14]. Here, we estimate the value of ecosystem services of the panda and its reserves at betweenUS$2.6 and US$6.9 billion/year in 2010. Protecting the panda as an umbrella species and the habitat that supports it yields roughly 10–27 times the cost of maintaining the current reserves, potentially further motivating expansion of the reserves and other in-vestments in natural capital in China.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2174-2180.e7
Number of pages15
JournalCurrent biology
Volume28
Issue number13
Early online date28 Jun 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Jul 2018

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Ursidae
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
ecosystem services
Ecosystems
Ecosystem
journalists
Biodiversity
biodiversity
natural capital
China
Conservation
taxes
habitats
funding
indigenous species
Taxation
ecosystems
Recovery
Economics
Costs

Keywords

  • ITC-ISI-JOURNAL-ARTICLE

Cite this

Wei, F., Costanza, R., Dai, Q., Stoeckl, N., Gu, X., Farber, S., ... Zhang, W. (2018). The Value of Ecosystem Services from Giant Panda Reserves. Current biology, 28(13), 2174-2180.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.046
Wei, Fuwen ; Costanza, Robert ; Dai, Qiang ; Stoeckl, Natalie ; Gu, Xiaodong ; Farber, Stephen ; Nie, Yonggang ; Kubiszewski, Ida ; Hu, Yibo ; Swaisgood, Ronald ; Yang, Xuyu ; Bruford, Michael ; Chen, Youping ; Voinov, A. ; Qi, Dunwu ; Owen, Megan ; Yan, Li ; Kenny, Daniel C. ; Zhang, Zejun ; Hou, Rong ; Jiang, Shiwei ; Liu, Hongbo ; Zhan, Xiangjiang ; Zhang, Li ; Yang, Biao ; Zhao, Lianjun ; Zheng, Xiaoguang ; Zhou, Wenliang ; Wen, Yali ; Gao, Heran ; Zhang, Wen. / The Value of Ecosystem Services from Giant Panda Reserves. In: Current biology. 2018 ; Vol. 28, No. 13. pp. 2174-2180.e7.
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abstract = "Ecosystem services (the benefits to humans from ecosystems) are estimated globally at $125 trillion/year [1, 2]. Similar assessments at national and regional scales show how these services support our lives [3]. All valuations recognize the role of biodiversity, which continues to decrease around the world in maintaining these services [4, 5]. The giant panda epitomizes the flagship species [6]. Its unrivalled public appeal translates into support for conservation funding and policy, including a tax on foreign visitors to support its conservation [7]. The Chinese government has established a panda reservesystem, which today numbers 67 reserves [8, 9]. The biodiversity of these reserves is among the highest in the temperate world [10], covering many of China’s endemic species [11]. The panda is thus also an umbrella species [12]—protecting panda habitat also protects other species. Despite the benefits derived from pandas, some journalists have suggested that it would be best to let the panda go extinct. With the recent down listing of the panda from Endangered to Vulnerable, it is clear that society’s investment has started to pay off in terms of panda population recovery [13, 14]. Here, we estimate the value of ecosystem services of the panda and its reserves at betweenUS$2.6 and US$6.9 billion/year in 2010. Protecting the panda as an umbrella species and the habitat that supports it yields roughly 10–27 times the cost of maintaining the current reserves, potentially further motivating expansion of the reserves and other in-vestments in natural capital in China.",
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Wei, F, Costanza, R, Dai, Q, Stoeckl, N, Gu, X, Farber, S, Nie, Y, Kubiszewski, I, Hu, Y, Swaisgood, R, Yang, X, Bruford, M, Chen, Y, Voinov, A, Qi, D, Owen, M, Yan, L, Kenny, DC, Zhang, Z, Hou, R, Jiang, S, Liu, H, Zhan, X, Zhang, L, Yang, B, Zhao, L, Zheng, X, Zhou, W, Wen, Y, Gao, H & Zhang, W 2018, 'The Value of Ecosystem Services from Giant Panda Reserves' Current biology, vol. 28, no. 13, pp. 2174-2180.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.046

The Value of Ecosystem Services from Giant Panda Reserves. / Wei, Fuwen (Corresponding Author); Costanza, Robert; Dai, Qiang; Stoeckl, Natalie; Gu, Xiaodong; Farber, Stephen; Nie, Yonggang; Kubiszewski, Ida; Hu, Yibo; Swaisgood, Ronald; Yang, Xuyu; Bruford, Michael; Chen, Youping; Voinov, A.; Qi, Dunwu; Owen, Megan; Yan, Li; Kenny, Daniel C.; Zhang, Zejun; Hou, Rong; Jiang, Shiwei; Liu, Hongbo; Zhan, Xiangjiang; Zhang, Li; Yang, Biao; Zhao, Lianjun; Zheng, Xiaoguang; Zhou, Wenliang; Wen, Yali; Gao, Heran; Zhang, Wen.

In: Current biology, Vol. 28, No. 13, 09.07.2018, p. 2174-2180.e7.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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AU - Wei, Fuwen

AU - Costanza, Robert

AU - Dai, Qiang

AU - Stoeckl, Natalie

AU - Gu, Xiaodong

AU - Farber, Stephen

AU - Nie, Yonggang

AU - Kubiszewski, Ida

AU - Hu, Yibo

AU - Swaisgood, Ronald

AU - Yang, Xuyu

AU - Bruford, Michael

AU - Chen, Youping

AU - Voinov, A.

AU - Qi, Dunwu

AU - Owen, Megan

AU - Yan, Li

AU - Kenny, Daniel C.

AU - Zhang, Zejun

AU - Hou, Rong

AU - Jiang, Shiwei

AU - Liu, Hongbo

AU - Zhan, Xiangjiang

AU - Zhang, Li

AU - Yang, Biao

AU - Zhao, Lianjun

AU - Zheng, Xiaoguang

AU - Zhou, Wenliang

AU - Wen, Yali

AU - Gao, Heran

AU - Zhang, Wen

PY - 2018/7/9

Y1 - 2018/7/9

N2 - Ecosystem services (the benefits to humans from ecosystems) are estimated globally at $125 trillion/year [1, 2]. Similar assessments at national and regional scales show how these services support our lives [3]. All valuations recognize the role of biodiversity, which continues to decrease around the world in maintaining these services [4, 5]. The giant panda epitomizes the flagship species [6]. Its unrivalled public appeal translates into support for conservation funding and policy, including a tax on foreign visitors to support its conservation [7]. The Chinese government has established a panda reservesystem, which today numbers 67 reserves [8, 9]. The biodiversity of these reserves is among the highest in the temperate world [10], covering many of China’s endemic species [11]. The panda is thus also an umbrella species [12]—protecting panda habitat also protects other species. Despite the benefits derived from pandas, some journalists have suggested that it would be best to let the panda go extinct. With the recent down listing of the panda from Endangered to Vulnerable, it is clear that society’s investment has started to pay off in terms of panda population recovery [13, 14]. Here, we estimate the value of ecosystem services of the panda and its reserves at betweenUS$2.6 and US$6.9 billion/year in 2010. Protecting the panda as an umbrella species and the habitat that supports it yields roughly 10–27 times the cost of maintaining the current reserves, potentially further motivating expansion of the reserves and other in-vestments in natural capital in China.

AB - Ecosystem services (the benefits to humans from ecosystems) are estimated globally at $125 trillion/year [1, 2]. Similar assessments at national and regional scales show how these services support our lives [3]. All valuations recognize the role of biodiversity, which continues to decrease around the world in maintaining these services [4, 5]. The giant panda epitomizes the flagship species [6]. Its unrivalled public appeal translates into support for conservation funding and policy, including a tax on foreign visitors to support its conservation [7]. The Chinese government has established a panda reservesystem, which today numbers 67 reserves [8, 9]. The biodiversity of these reserves is among the highest in the temperate world [10], covering many of China’s endemic species [11]. The panda is thus also an umbrella species [12]—protecting panda habitat also protects other species. Despite the benefits derived from pandas, some journalists have suggested that it would be best to let the panda go extinct. With the recent down listing of the panda from Endangered to Vulnerable, it is clear that society’s investment has started to pay off in terms of panda population recovery [13, 14]. Here, we estimate the value of ecosystem services of the panda and its reserves at betweenUS$2.6 and US$6.9 billion/year in 2010. Protecting the panda as an umbrella species and the habitat that supports it yields roughly 10–27 times the cost of maintaining the current reserves, potentially further motivating expansion of the reserves and other in-vestments in natural capital in China.

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Wei F, Costanza R, Dai Q, Stoeckl N, Gu X, Farber S et al. The Value of Ecosystem Services from Giant Panda Reserves. Current biology. 2018 Jul 9;28(13):2174-2180.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.046

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