The crucial role of public participation in wildlife habitat restoration: A case study from Yingjing in the Giant Panda National Park

Abstract Habitat restoration is an effective strategy to mitigate the degradation and fragmentation of habitats for endangered species. Since 2018, the Giant Panda National Park (GPNP), in collaboration with private institutions, launched a pilot initiative to restore giant panda habitats in the Daxiangling Mountains. This study focuses on the residents from five townships in Yingjing County that intersect with GPNP's jurisdiction, aiming to explore their responses to the ongoing habitat restoration projects. Data were collected using a questionnaire based on the “Perception—Attitude—Participation” framework concerning the giant panda habitat restoration project. Out of 151 questionnaires were distributed during one‐on‐one interviews, 146 valid responses were collected. The findings reveal that respondents generally maintain a positive attitude towards habitat restoration. However, their overall perception of habitat restoration remains relatively low, and widespread participation has yet to materialize. Significantly, our analysis demonstrates a positive correlation between respondents' participation scores and both their perception scores and attitude scores. This result highlights the importance of public participation in wildlife conservation work, thereby promoting their awareness and goodwill towards ecological protection. We recommend that the GPNP workforce intensify efforts to promote habitat restoration projects, particularly targeting individuals with limited access to information and knowledge. By doing so, we aim to broaden the scope of participation and ignite residents' enthusiasm for ecological conservation.