The worldwide population of wild giant pandas increased by 268 over the last decade, according to a new survey conducted by the government of China. The increase in population brought the total number of wild giant pandas to 1864. The population increase represents a 16.8% rise compared to the last panda survey in 2003. Wild giant pandas, a global symbol of wildlife conservation, are found only in China’s Sichuan, Shanxi and Gansu provinces.

According to the report, formerly known as the Fourth National Giant Panda Survey, the geographic range of pandas throughout China also increased. The total area inhabited by wild giant pandas in China now equals 2,577,000 hectares, representing a growth of 11.8% since 2003.

"These results are a testament to the conservation achievements of the Chinese government," said Xiaohai Liu, executive director of programmes, WWF China. A lot of good work is being done around wild giant panda conservation, and the government has done well to integrate these efforts and partner with conservation organisations including WWF. The report, the fourth in a series of decade (10 years) surveys conducted by the State Forestry Administration of China, began in 2011 with financial and technical support from WWF.

Much of the success in increasing the panda population comes as a result of conservation policies implemented by the Chinese government, including the Natural Forest Protection Project and Grain for Green.

The report found that 1,246 wild giant pandas live within nature reserves, accounting for 66.8% of the total wild population, and the habitat within nature reserves accounts for 53.8% of the total habitat area. There are currently 67 panda nature reserves in China, an increase of 27 since the last report.