About Wolong

Sue Nichols<Nichols@msu.edu> -

Wolong is transforming before our eyes, and in turn is helping transform science.

Wolong is located inside a global biodiversity hotspot that’s home to both the world-famous, endangered Giant Panda and more than 4,500 local residents belonging to more than 1,100 households.

It has become a popular destination for tourists from around the world. Like many other places in China and other developing countries, Wolong has been rapidly transforming in many ways, such as going from a largely closed economy to an open economy, from subsistence agriculture to diverse sources of income, and from accelerating human impacts on natural systems to large conservation efforts for restoration.

It was also near the epicenter of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake that had drastic immediate impacts on human-nature interactions and may cause long-lasting impacts due to major ongoing reconstruction and relocation effort.

Wolong is transforming before our eyes, and in turn is helping transform science. In Wolong, the scientific discipline of studying coupled human and nature systems (CHANS) is enriching opportunities to study how humans and nature coexist.

Wolong continues to be the site of several research projects by members of the center and its international collaborators, yielding compelling looks at how deeply intertwined the humans and nature are, and how to find sustainable solutions that both benefit the environment and enable people to thrive.

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