Section BThe giant panda, the creature that has become a symbol of conservation, is facing

Section B

The giant panda, the creature that has become a symbol of conservation, is facing extinction. The major reason is loss of habitat, which has continued despite the establishment of 14 panda reserves. Deforestation, mainly carried out by fanners clearing land to make way for fields as they move higher into the mountains, has drastically contracted mammal’s range. The panda has disappeared from much of central and eastern China, and is now restricted to the eastern flank of the Himalayas.

Satellite imagery has shown the seriousness of the situation; almost half of the panda's habitat has been cut down or degraded since 1975. Worse, the surviving panda population has also become fragmented; a combination of satellite imagery and ground surveys reveals panda "islands" in patches of forest separated by cleared land. The population of these islands has become isolated because the animals are loath to cross open areas. Just puting a road through panda habitat may be enough to split a population in two.

The minuscule size of the panda population worries conservationists. The smallest groups have too few animals to be viable, and will inevitably die out. The larger populations may be viable in the short term, but will be susceptible to genetic defect as a result of inbreeding.

In these circumstances, a more traditional threat to panda-cycle of flowering and subsequent withering of the bamboo that is their staple food—can become literally species—threatening. The flowering prompts panda to move from one area to another, thus preventing inbreeding in otherwise sedentary populations. In panda islands, however, bamboo flowering could prove catastrophic(灾难性的) because the pandas are unable to emigrate.

The last conservation management plan for the panda, prepared by China’s Ministry of Forestry and the World Wild Fund for Nature, aims primarily at maintaining panda habitats and ensuring that populations are linked wherever possible. This plan will change some existing reserve boundaries, establish 14 new reserves and protect or replant corridors of forest between panda islands. Other measures include better control of poaching, reducing the degradation of habitats outside reserves and reforestation.

The plan is ambitious. Implementation will be expensive and will require participation by individuals ranging from villagers to government officials.

The survival of the giant panda is being seriously【61】______. This is largely because the overall size of their habitat has been reduced. As a result, pandas are more prone to problems and are unable to【62】______around freely, following the growth cycles of【63】______ plant. A new plan aims to protect existing panda【64】______and to join some of them together. This plan also involves reforestation and the creation of new reserves. To succeed, everyone,【65】______both the government and individuals, will have to cooperate.

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