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The giant panda is only found in a mountainous region of China

Scientists from Cardiff University are working on the first genome project detailing the genetic make up of the endangered giant panda.

Researchers from the Cardiff School of Biosciences will work with colleagues across the world on the project.

Professor Mike Bruford said it was the first time an endangered species had been deliberately sequenced.

He said they hoped the work will give them an insight into the panda's history and a window into the future.

Previous research by Prof Bruford found the decline of the giant panda can be linked directly to human activities rather than a genetic inability to adapt and evolve.

However, little research has been carried out on a genomic scale and it is hoped the first research from this latest study will be available next year.

Genetic variation

The giant panda genome is approximately the same size as the human genome, and is thought to have between 20,000 and 30,000 genes.

Prof Bruford said: "This international collaboration will help scientists to understand the genetic basis for the giant panda's unique adaptations, including its dietary specialisation, and will reveal the history of the species in unparalleled detail."

Hundreds of colleagues from universities in China, the USA and Canada will be taking part in the research.

"Our interest is in generic variation," said Prof Bruford.

"We are particularly interested in the effects of demographic isolation (on the panda) and the fact that their populations are very fragmented and very small."

Previous research carried out by Professor Bruford and the school of biosciences two years ago, profiling DNA from panda faeces, found some evidence that there are actually more of the giant pandas living in the mountains of China than the previous estimate of just 1,600.

The panda is often referred to as a "living fossil" as their is evidence that its ancestors existed in China more than 8m years ago.

Latest estimates are there could be more than 2,000 giant pandas left

Prof Bruford said: "Pandas have lived in a large and expanding human population for thousands of years."

In comparison orang-utans whose numbers are also in decline have only been living in the same way for hundreds of years.

The panda genome research would given scientists a "window into the future" said the professor, to help other endangered species.

Wales' environment minister Jane Davidson has praised the biodiversity research taking place at the university school of biosciences.

She said: "Protecting biodiversity - so that it can provide essential ecosystem services that will help us to deal with social, economic and environmental changes - will be an essential ingredient of our success in achieving the future we want for Wales."

Seven-month-old giant panda cub Fu Long looks around as he makes his first outdoor appearance in the zoo in Vienna March 30, 2008. The cub was born on August 23 last year. His parents, Yang Yang and Long Hui, were transferred from China to Schoenbrunn Zoo in 2003, and are on loan to Austria by China for a period of 10 years.

Seven-month-old giant panda cub Fu Long looks around as he makes his first outdoor appearance in the zoo in Vienna March 30, 2008.

Seven-month-old giant panda cub Fu Long looks rests as he makes his first outdoor appearance in the zoo in Vienna March 30, 2008.

The world's largest giant panda breeding center in Sichuan province will be set up by the end of this year, with a capacity to house about 200 of the endangered animals.

The new nature reserve will cover 1 sq km, including 20 outdoor homes and a 20,000-sq-m playground, Zhang Hemin, chief of the administrative bureau of the Wolong Nature Reserve, which leads the building of the new facility, said.

Panda cubs eat apples at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province, April 17, 2008. The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species and is found only in China. An estimated 1,600 wild pandas live in nature reserves in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, and 217 are kept in captivity. [Agencies]

The Wolong Nature Reserve covers 2,000 sq km and is China's first and largest reserve devoted to panda conservation.

By the end of last year, the reserve had bred 130 captive pandas from an original 10, the largest panda species group in the world.

Eight young pandas from the reserve will also leave their habitat for Beijing next month, to allow visitors from different parts of the world a glimpse of the endangered animals during the Olympic Games.

The increase in the number of pandas reflects the country's efforts in protecting animals and plants by establishing nature reserves, officials said.

"The country's natural resources have benefited from conservation," said Lei Guangchun, director of the nature reserve department of Beijing Forestry University.

The new reserve itself is part of green efforts that have seen more than 2,400 nature reserves of various kinds being set up, covering more than 15 percent of the nation's land area, official figures showed.

"It is a significant increase, particularly when you compare it with the world average, which is 10 percent," Lei said.

Nationwide, 47 percent of wetland, 30 percent of desert, 20 percent of natural premier forest, 85 percent of endangered wildlife and plants, and 65 percent of vascular plant communities are under protection.

However, environmental experts have said that challenges remain on how to set up a long-term, effective and legislative mechanism to balance human and wildlife development, and to compensate those who compromise their living standards to protect the environment.

"For a long time, China has been establishing nature reserves to rescue or protect flora and fauna. It is time to think about how to better manage and achieve the sustainability of these established nature reserves," Lei said.

Li Zhong, an official in charge of the nature reserves office with the State Forestry Administration, also emphasized the importance of increasing investment in such reserves at all levels.