Fifty Years of Giant Panda Conservation with Smithsonian’s National Zoo

This talk will explore the role of habitat protection, scientific research and breeding programs in the recovery of giant pandas, and the policies that have contributed to their shift from "Endangered" to "Vulnerable."

Speakers

Melissa Songer, Conservation Biologist at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's (SCBI) Conservation Ecology Center

Songer holds a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and specializes in the conservation and landscape ecology of endangered species in Asia and Chad. Her work integrates ecological field research, remote sensing, and community-based conservation to restore and sustain species like Przewalski’s horses, scimitar-horned oryx, Asian elephants, and giant pandas. She also leads capacity-building initiatives, having trained over 1,000 conservation professionals worldwide in GIS and wildlife monitoring.

Qiongyu Huang, Wildlife Biologist at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's (SCBI) Conservation Ecology Center

Qiongyu Huang specializes in GIS, remote sensing, and spatial analysis to study large-scale wildlife-habitat dynamics. His research focuses on giant panda habitat distribution, climate change impacts, and land-use change patterns, integrating advanced spatial modeling and GPS-tracked animal movement data for conservation. Committed to capacity building, he teaches spatial ecology at the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation and holds a Ph.D. in geographical sciences from the University of Maryland.

This event is co-organized by the Science Policy Group (SPG) and the Department of Geographical Sciences.