Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Science, 100049 Beijing, China; Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 650223 Kunming, China.
Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; DeTao Masters Academy, 201620 Shanghai, China.
Curr Biol. 2018 Jul 9;28(13):2174-2180.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.046. Epub 2018 Jun 28.
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 reserve system, 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 downlisting 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 between US$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 investments in natural capital in China.
生态系统服务（人类从生态系统中获得的效益）估计全球每年为 12.5 万亿美元[1,2]。在国家和地区规模上进行类似评估表明了这些服务如何支持我们的生活[3]。所有评估都认识到生物多样性的作用，而生物多样性在全球范围内仍在持续减少，从而难以维持这些服务[4,5]。大熊猫是旗舰物种的典型代表[6]。它无与伦比的公众吸引力转化为对保护资金和政策的支持，包括对外国游客征税以支持其保护[7]。中国政府建立了大熊猫保护区系统，目前共有 67 个保护区[8,9]。这些保护区的生物多样性在温带世界中是最高的之一[10]，涵盖了中国许多特有物种[11]。因此，大熊猫也是伞护物种[12]——保护大熊猫栖息地也保护了其他物种。尽管大熊猫带来了好处，但一些记者认为，让大熊猫灭绝是最好的选择。随着大熊猫濒危等级最近被下调为易危，很明显，社会的投资已经开始在大熊猫种群恢复方面取得回报[13,14]。在这里，我们估计 2010 年大熊猫及其保护区的生态系统服务价值在 26 亿至 69 亿美元/年之间。保护大熊猫作为伞护物种及其栖息地的价值大约是维持现有保护区成本的 10-27 倍，这可能进一步激发保护区的扩大和中国对自然资本的其他投资。
