Giant panda today only lives in a very narrow belt in China,
and has been inscribed as a Class I Protected Animal by the Chinese
Government. It has also been listed in the endangered animals
under protection of the organization of CITES and IUCN. Furthermore,
the WWF founded in 1961 chose the giant panda as the emblem, symbolizing
world wildlife protection and natural conservation.
The nominated area, Wolong-Mt. Siguniang-JiajinMountains, constitutes
the most important portion of all remaining panda habitats and
a key joint between the other five mountain systems still containing
wild pandas. About one-third of the total giant panda population
has been living in the very area.
The flora is exceptionally rich in the nominated area. There
are more than 5 000 species of plant, including bryophyte (46
families, 102 genera), fern (30 families, 70 genera), bryophyte
(9 families, 24 genera), angiosperm (147 families; 794 genera).
And there are 542 species of vertebrates and 1 700 species of
insects among the known wild animals in the nominated area. Among
the vertebrates are 109 species of mammals in 25 families, 365
species of birds in 45 families, 32 species of reptiles in 9 families,
22 species of amphibians in 8 families, 14 species of fishes in
5 families. The nominated area has proved a 'goldmine' in terms
of biological discovery.
