Eight Officials Sacked for Mangrove Loss in GuangxiEight officials from Hepu County of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were recently sacked for allowing a large amount of mangrove in the county to be destroyed.Those ousted, mostly from Zhakou Township, include Chen Jie, Party secretary of Zhakou Township; Chen Chongquan and Li Xiaosan, both deputy Party secretary of the township, and Huang Shouxiang, head of the township office for tidal zones. The sacked officials are responsible for destroying the mangrove bushes for immediate benefit at the cost of long-term development and ecological and environmental protection. Another five people, who directly responsible for the destroy of mangrove, were detained by local police, said local sources. Mangrove is one of the main forms of vegetation capable of protecting the marine ecological environment. It can hold back waves, protect coastal embankments, provide plenty of food and fine resting places for birds and marine creatures, help reduce pollution from inland rivers, as well as protect biodiversity in coastal wetland. Mangrove are densely distributed in Guangxi. In the coastal city of Beihai, there are 38,000 hectares of mangrove, and another 12,333 hectares of tidal zones are suitable for growing mangrove. But since 1994, the coastal city has been caught up in reclaiming the tidal zones for breeding businesses. A large area of mangrove are gone because of the destructive move. Zhakou Township is one of the worst-hit regions. In three major separate mangrove destruction cases for making ponds to rear shrimps and prawns in Zhapu since October 1999, about 53,104 mangrove were felled, severely affecting the ecological environment in the adjacent marine waters, said local officials. |
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