Pandas and People - The Book

Sue Nichols<Nichols@msu.edu>, nichols@msu.edu -

Two decades of studying pandas in a remote corner of China have provided lessons in sustainability that have resonated across the globe.

Two decades of studying pandas in a remote corner of China have provided lessons in sustainability that have resonated across the globe. The work is synthesized in the book "Pandas and People - Coupling Human and Natural Systems for Sustainability."

Turns out, there’s a lot we’ve learned from pandas.

Wolong is a beautiful mountainous spot in southwestern China in which some of the most elemental struggles play out daily between nature and the humans who live amongst it. The biodiversity hotspot is not only home to the iconic, endangered giant panda, but also some 5,000 people who depend on the forest.

Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability calls Wolong its “excellent laboratory” because its truths have proven universal: Honor the needs of both people and nature and acknowledge the dynamic, complex nature of that relationship and sustainability is possible.

Now, sustainability scholars from MSU and around the world, led by CSIS director Jianguo "Jack" Liu, join to apply lessons learned in Wolong to challenges rooted in climate change, trade, habitat conservation and resource and ecosystem service management. They bring input from many sciences – from ecology, plant and wildlife sciences to social, economic and behavioral sciences.

This holistic approach, which has helped shaped the current nature reserve, has been applied around the world. The coupled human and natural systems approach has solved problems. Made things better.

From the pandas, and people, has come an approach of action. And hope.

In this wonderful book, Jianguo Liu and his colleagues synthesize their long-term research on pandas-people interactions, their significance for the world, and our reasons for hope.

-- Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel

Edited by
Buy the Book

Oxford University Press logo

 

Amazon.com logo

 

Did you find this article useful?

You Might Also Be Interested In

Tag List
  • center for systems integration and sustainability,
  • pandas and people
Michigan State University
  • Spartans Will.
  • © Michigan State University

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer, committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential.

Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Quentin Tyler, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.

The 4-H Name and Emblem have special protections from Congress, protected by code 18 USC 707.

We comply with the Federal Trade Commission 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).