Panda.Ba: A Community-based Nature Education Project of Guanba Village in the National Park

Project Team

Leader: Cao Chunkai (AIRI Fellow)

Members: Wu Haiming (AIRI Fellow), Sun Yiyun (AIRI Fellow), He Haiyan, Meng Ji, Yi Yuanyuan

Background and Introduction

Panda.Ba Project is situated in Guanba Village, Pingwu County, Sichuan Province in southwest China. Guanba Village sits at the entrance to the Giant Panda National Park and pioneers a model of community-based natural conservation in China. With years of local development and external support, Guanba has made great progress in establishing community actorhood for natural conservation, yet it is facing severe challenges in harnessing ecological resources to develop viable local industries and ultimately revitalize the emptying village. Currently, against the grand backdrop of China’s renewed ecological conservation system centering national parks as the mainstay institution, Guanba seeks to expand its flagship nature education industry that offers authentic eco-experiences tailored for educational and leisure tours, aiming to accelerate local socio-economic growth and restore village vibrancy.

In close collaboration with Guanba village leadership and villagers, the main objectives of Panda.Ba Project are to revamp and enhance Guanba’s nature education offerings, increase capacity building opportunities for villagers and village cooperatives, and accompany Guanba Village to establish a community-based, inclusive, and equitable model of conservation. Through this project, Guanba will emerge as a pioneering model of harmonious coexistence between human and nature, contributing to rural socio-environmental balanced development in the context of China’s evolving national park system.

Project Site

Guanba Village, Pingwu County, Sichuan Province, China

Proposed Project Actions and Deliverables

• Improve the quality and competitiveness of Guanba’s nature education products and services, catering to visitors’ diverse needs and market potential: Conduct standardized and modular nature education curriculum design that provides tailored courses for different age range in diversified course formats, incorporating local cultural and aesthetic characteristics.
• Mobilize and empower the local community by offering high-quality and effective capacity building opportunities. Conduct initial screening for potential and ability among Guanba villagers to mobilize their active participation in the nature education business and match them with ideal roles, and develop modular training toolboxes and capacity building opportunities, such as through role-oriented training courses for widening training opportunities for local villagers.
• Execute effective social marketing campaigns and expand business opportunities to promote Guanba to more potential consumers and partners. Establish uniquely community-based brand personality for Guanba by creatively revitalizing Guanba’s cultural and historical heritage as the “Panda Tribe” and promoting the “Panda Brother and Bee Sister” local IP, and cultivate local villagers, especially women with strong communication skills, to be online key opinion leaders (KOLs) and storytellers.