Panda Heritage: Kinship Measurements an...

Fellowship at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg inherit - Heritage in Transformation, Humboldt University of Berlin

In projects aimed at preserving biodiversity on a damaged planet, kinship measurements establish the value of species and specimens as natural heritage. Panda Heritage expands my earlier work on the generative force of kinship measurements beyond humans and connects with my work on infrastructures of value in agriculture. The giant panda is a particularly interesting species for exploring how measurements of kinship as similarity and closeness are employed to determine origin, belonging and life’s value in species conservation. Pandas are not only symbol of global conservation efforts and protected as world heritage in wildlife sanctuaries, but also claimed by the People’s Republic of China as national treasure and used for so-called panda diplomacy. Analysing historical and contemporary sources of panda research and interviewing involved natural scientists, Panda Heritage maps multiple overlapping and competing kinship measurements that inform panda matchmaking, habitat modelling and care practices. Thereby it offers insights into how kinship measurements not only justify the protection of natural heritage but also shape conservation interventions (such as the captive breeding program and the establishment of the Giant Panda National Park in 2020) that affect the lives of both protected species and their companion species. The project thus contributes to understand how natural heritage is made through kinship measurements that decide about breeding and breathing.