The biodiversity on planet Earth has been dwindling as more and more species are becoming endangered, and even extinct. While most of the news concerning endangered species seems to be negative, there has been a positive change in conservation status of one particular animal: the giant panda. As of September 2016, there are 2,060 giant pandas, and increase of 17% over the last decade that moves the pandas from "endangered" status to "vulnerable."

The red list for the International Union for Conservation of Nature provides framework for analysis of conservation status for mammal species on Earth. The list looks like this:

Based on the parameters set, moving from Endangered status to Vulnerable is a huge step in the right direction for Giant Pandas.

In the journey to recovering the panda population, scientists found it hard to breed pandas in captivity. Pandas eat about 12.5 kilograms of bamboo per day, so keeping them fed, trying to breed them, and conserving the forests of bamboo in China proved very challenging. With climate change, maintaining enough bamboo to maintain the panda population will be an increasing challenge.

The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) became the first to work in China, and since then 67 panda reserves have been built in China, protecting nearly two-thirds of wild pandas. Those reserves have also protected swaths of bamboo forests. The news that the Giant Panda is no longer endangered, but vulnerable is great, but that can't be the end of the story.

The next step to ensuring the survival of pandas is to work towards curbing global warming and urbanization of wildlife areas. With a changing climate, the bamboo is threatened and may not be able to survive its once native areas. These kinds of problems aren't just being faced by pandas. The orangutan, the black rhino, the mountain Gorilla, and the South China Tiger are all critically endangered according to the WWF, just to name a few. The Asian Elephant, Blue Whale, Bluefin Tuna, and Snow Leopard are all endangered as well. There are currently 47 species on the WWF list of endangered and critically endangered species.

Why these species are all endangered is not universally the same. Some may be losing in the race of "survival of the fittest" and are part of an evolutionary path where their relatives acquired more useful traits. Many are endangered because of changing climate and physical factors. A large amount of endangered animals are endangered because of human activity. We've taken over land that they used to live on, and changed the terrain that used to be theirs. We've increased the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to a point where the planet's global average temperature is increasing. We've taken food sources and made roads through wildlife areas. While our coexisting is possible, people tend to focus on all the negative that humans have done to the planet and its creatures.

Despite all the harm humans have caused to the environment, ideas and attitudes are changing. We might not be a global people of environmentalists, but change is starting to happen in tiny strides. The Paris World Summit last year got countries to agree to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cities across the United States are starting to ban plastic grocery bags and increase recycling programs, and the Giant Panda is no longer endangered. The journey is by no means over; human terrain is expanding, we are overfishing, we are polluting, and we are mining for resources that will someday run out. However, that is not all we are doing. We are helping the World Wildlife Foundation and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The people in control may not have the environment as a top priority now, but opinions are changing, and I believe in a better, more sustainable future. Congratulations to the Giant Pandas! You're days on Earth are increasing.