Panda Trade
Panda Trade
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All Ted Case
CASE NUMBER: 56
CASE MNEMONIC: PANDA
CASE NAME: Panda Trade
A. IDENTIFICATION
1. The Issue
The decline of the panda is related to the loss of its bamboo
habitat as well as poaching. Poaching satisfies both domestic and
foreign demand, where panda parts are used for medicines,
ornaments, crafts, or other purposes. Pandas are at the top of the
list of "mega-charistmatic" animals, and the panda has become a
symbol of threatened wildlife around the world. Because of their
popularity, pandas are the most often visited of all animals in
zoos and places such as the Washington National Zoo are noted for
their panda exhibit. Because of their importance as a tourist
attraction, trade in pandas has become an expensive and yet
somewhat uncontrolled industry. Some accuse the zoos of
contributing to the decline of the panda by acquiring them
essentially for financial reasons.
2. Description
The panda has thrived in China for more than 3 million years.
However, in the last four decades China's population has more than
doubled to nearly 1.2 billion and the once remote habitat of the
panda is now being seriously encroached by human beings. Their
habitat is being destroyed by peasants and loggers, who cut trees
which leaves the bamboo, which needs shade and moisture, exposed to
the sun. This eventually kills the bamboo. In the 1970's, China
admitted what conservationists had been telling it for years.
China's national symbol, the Giant Panda, was in danger of facing
extinction.
No animal is more prized than China's giant panda, now in
grave danger of extinction. The demand for the popular creature by
zoos all over the world, commonly known as "panda loans", is said
to contribute to the animal's demise. China's black market trade
in endangered species including pandas also adds to the slide
towards extinction.
Pandas are notoriously hard to breed and therefore the only
supply of pandas comes from their shrinking habitat in China.
Cooperation among the Chinese government, zoos world-wide, and the
various private groups, such as World Wildlife Fund, is underway to
save the clown-faced Chinese bears. At most 1,000 giant pandas
survive in the wild. A small cluster of pandas is confined in
Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces in China. An additional 100
pandas are confined in cages and posing for cameras in world zoos.
Panda's have a highly specialized diet and survive almost
exclusively on bamboo. The panda's digestive system can only
assimilate about 17 percent of the bamboo it consumes -- thus the
animal must locate and eat prodigious amounts every day. In one
study, a panda consumed 85 pounds of bamboo in 24 hours, half its
body weight. The animal's reluctance to assimilate additional
nutritional plants alongside their diet staple is another issue
that makes life in a zoo difficult for pandas. The panda's diet
severely limits their energy level. Male pandas shrink away from
confrontation rather than risk the fatigue that might be induced
from fighting for their territory. Panda's avoid activities such
as tree climbing or sudden movements whenever possible; and resist
the impulse to hunt smaller animals, perhaps for fear that the
energy they expend in chasing them down will prove greater than the
energy to be gained from eating them.
George Schaller, biologist and the first outsider ever
permitted by the Chinese to study the panda in the wild, notes that
the comic face that makes the panda such a crowd pleaser is linked
to the animals need to conserve energy through forestalling
conflict. Western zoo's desires for panda loans are actually
contributing to the demise of the panda. "Rent-a-panda" deals and
short term loans of giant pandas to western zoos, usually entails
large investments for both the zoos and the Chinese government,
which receives up to a half a million per panda. The zoo's
justification is that the exhibits, which draw people in droves,
can raise awareness about the precarious plight of the panda as
well as provide funds for China's conservation efforts. Critics
charge that the "rent-a-panda" programs disrupts the breeding's
cycle pattern. Therefore some loans are restricted to non-breeding
pandas over the age of 15. Because of the animal's enormous
popular appeal and the amount of money involved, the politics of
panda conservation are vicious, according to Devra Kleinman,
assistant director of research at Washington's National Zoo.
3. Related Cases
USCHINA case
RHINO case
TIGER case
BEAR case
ELEPHANT case
BEAR case
Keyword Clusters
(1): Domain = ASIA
(2): Bio-geography = TEMPerate
(3): Environmental Problem = Special Loss Land [SPLL]
4. Draft Author: Ruby Lau
B. LEGAL Clusters
5. Discourse and Status: DISagreement and INPROGress
The Chinese Forestry Department acknowledges that it is a
common responsibility for the whole of mankind to protect
endangered wildlife species. China has set up 451 nature reserves
for wildlife covering more than 46 million hectares. The
government plans to increase the number of reserves to about 500,
which will account for 5 percent of the country's total land area,
or 50 million hectares. Recent Chinese measures against illegal
hunting and trading of endangered animals have also been harsh (see
ELEPHANT, RHINO, TIGER, and USCHINA cases). Statistics indicate
that of those convicted of hunting, trading, or killing the giant
panda, four have been sentenced to death, several dozens have
received life imprisonment penalties, and hundreds have been
jailed. China has invested heavily in creating protection projects
for endangered animals and has established 14 treatment and
breeding centers for endangered animals, including pandas. In 1983
during the bamboo crisis, China saved 110 sick and 146 hungry giant
pandas.
Environmentalism is a new and alien concept to China. Chinese
society tends to emphasize the utility of animals parts. Exotic
pets are status symbols, and the skins of exotic animals hang in
homes of the wealthy. Although China called for tougher
application of its laws against animal trafficking, it is doubtful
the it has the resources or the political will to mount a sustained
enforcement effort. The willingness of many police officers to
accept small bribes makes a mockery of legislation. China has made
some progress in the protection of the wildlife since 1980. China
joined the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of wild flora and fauna
(CITES). Three years later, laws and regulations aimed at
protecting the land and animals were published.
6. Forum and Scope: CITES and MULTIlateral
Criticism is inherent in the dispute about the adequacy of
China's conservation efforts. Although the Chinese have made major
strides, they are pursuing conservation with less vigor than their
Western colleagues would like. Complicating matters, the oversight
for the panda is divided into two ministries -- the forestry
ministry, which runs the 12 panda reserves and the urban and
environment ministry, which runs the zoos. Communication between
the two ministries is poor which makes a unified effort difficult.
7. Decision Breadth: 117 (CITES signatories)
8. Legal Standing: TREATY
To prevent zoos from importing pandas for a commercial gain,
there have been quotas imposed on the trade of pandas. The Clinton
administration is reassessing its policy towards U.S. zoos
exhibiting giant pandas and will temporary ban their importation
from China. The Fish and Wildlife Service wants to evaluate
whether U.S. actions are helping to ensure the panda's survival in
the wild. The United States has expressed interest in long-term
captive breeding programs which would bring larger numbers of the
endangered species here. U.S officials have voiced their concerns
about the Chinese commitment to panda conservation as the animal's
habitat suffers increasing encroachment. However, Ling-Ling, the
National Zoo's former female panda gave birth to six cubs, none of
which survived.
C. GEOGRAPHIC Clusters
9. Geographic Locations
a. Geographic Domain : ASIA
b. Geographic Site : East Asia [EASIA]
c. Geographic Impact : USA
10. Sub-National Factors: NO
11. Type of Habitat: TEMPerate
The area is actually a unique forest that includes bamboo
necessary for the panda's diet.
D. TRADE Clusters
12. Type of Measure: Import Ban [IMBAN]
At the present, there are licensing requirements and a ban on
imports. Panda loans, if properly regulated, can be of tremendous
benefit to conservation; however, bribes and illegal trade often
override regulations.
13. Direct vs. Indirect Impacts: DIRect
14. Relation of Measure to Environmental Impact
a. Directly Related : YES PANDA
b. Indirectly Related : NO
c. Not Related : NO
d. Process Related : YES Species Loss Land [SPLL]
15. Trade Product Identification: PANDA
16. Economic Data
The panda trade is a big business. Zoo directors worldwide
struggle to outbid one another for pandas. Fortunately, this has
one beneficial impact: pandas are worth more to the Chinese alive
than dead. In 1987, the Chinese began renting them for six-figure
sums, plus a cut of souvenir sales from zoos.
17. Impact of Measure on Trade Competitiveness: BAN
Conservationist organizations are becoming stricter in their
efforts of panda conservation. The Fish and Wildlife Service have
recently turned down the San Diego's zoo request for a pair of
giant pandas. Zoo officials who already spent $1 million to build
an exhibit area and a gift shop are appealing the agency's
decision.
18. Industry Sector: ENTERtainment
The popularity of the panda is also an attractive source of
revenue for zoos. Therefore, the case probably belongs to the
entertainment industry.
19. Exporter and Importer: CHINA and USA
Little aggregate data on panda trade exist. Panda pelts sell
for $10,000 on the black market in Hong Kong and dealers and
collectors in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan pay $40,000 for panda
skins. On the other hand, a Japanese zoo paid $10 million for 10-
year loan of a panda. Leading world importers are Hong Kong,
Japan, Taiwan, and the United States.
E. ENVIRONMENT Clusters
20. Environmental Problem Type: Species Loss Land [SPLL]
In addition to the giant panda, China is home to the golden
monkey, the south chinese tiger, the chinese alligator, the chinese
sturgeon, and the yangtze dolphin. These creatures are threatened
as their natural habitats are also shrinking. Archaeologists have
found that in ancient times, the giant panda had a vast living
area, stretching from Beijing in the north to Guangdong and Fujian
provinces in the South. After the Ming Dynasty, the panda's domain
gradually shrank to the bamboo forests in the Sichuan provinces.
21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species
Name: Panda
Type: Animal/Vertibrate/Mammal/Carnivore
Diversity: 41 Mammals per 10,000 km/sq (China)
22. Resource Impact and Effect: HIGH and PRODuct
Policies and laws along with conservation efforts will
determine the fate of the pandas. Elaborate research and breading
facilities are significant measures that could assist survival.
23. Urgency and Lifetime: HIGH and about 20 years
Serious efforts are being made to preserve this well admired
species. Elaborate research and captive breeding programs are some
of the contributing efforts. It has been predicted that by the
year 2025, the estimated population of the species may increase to
5,000.
24. Substitutes: Eco-Tourism [ECOTR]
VI. OTHER Factors
25. Culture: YES
The panda is an old symbol of eastern society and a newer one
of western society. Tigers adorn the national flags of many
countries and are revered in others in art and culture.
26. Trans-Border: NO
27. Rights: NO
28. Relevant Literature
Begley, Sharon. "Killed by Kindness." Newsweek (April 12,
1993): 50.
Earle, Sue. "Panda Politics - In Black and White; Greed Wrecks
China's Conservation Efforts." South Morning China Post
(April 25, 1993).
Roberts, Leslie. "Conservationists in Panda-monium; Dispute over
Zoos Borrowing Pandas from China." Science (July 29,
1988): 529.
Sachs, Andrea. ""A Grisley and Illicit Trade." Time (April 8,
1991): 67.
Schaller, George. The Last Panda. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1993.
Sun, Lena. "The Politics of Being a Panda." The Washington Post
(December 27, 1993).
Ward, Geoffrey. "Loved to Death." The New York Times (March 28,
1993): G1.
"Zoo to the World." The New York Times (July 19, 1981): F23.