Shenzhen vigorously promotes mangrove forest protection
Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province has actively promoted mangrove forest protection, the protection of waterfowl habitats, and science popularization in recent years, striving to achieve coordinated economic development and ecological conservation, as well as harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
The 62nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention on Wetlands) approved the establishment of the world's first international mangrove center in Shenzhen in September 2023. It will promote global mangrove protection and restoration, and rational utilization.
Photo shows part of the Dongyong mangrove wetland in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo/Yao Zelin)
China's mangrove forest coverage has reached about 438,000 mu (29,200 hectares), an increase of approximately 7,200 hectares since the start of the century, becoming one of the few countries in the world with a net increase in mangrove areas.
Over the past 10 years, Shenzhen has restored 43.33 hectares of mangrove forests.
Shenzhen has some 296.18 hectares of mangrove forests. As one of the wetland ecosystems, mangroves, known as "coastal guardians," play an important role in maintaining the biodiversity of coastal zones, storing carbon, releasing oxygen, and preventing wind and waves, which continuously enhance the city's ecological quality.
Shenzhen Bay, with the Futian mangrove wetland as its core area, is an important stopover site and wintering ground of global migratory bird flyways, attracting nearly 100,000 migratory birds every year.
"Mangrove forests provide enough food for birds," said Yang Qiong, a senior engineer at the Guangdong Neilingding Futian National Nature Reserve Administration.
In recent years, Shenzhen has launched a number of mangrove wetland ecological restoration projects based on local conditions to greatly enhance the functions of the mangrove ecosystem. Measures such as mangrove planting and bird habitat construction have been carried out. Since 2020, the city has planted and restored 25.72 hectares of mangroves.
"Protecting mangroves is actually protecting the global ecosystem," said Zhou Haichao, a researcher at the Greater Bay Area Mangrove Wetland Research and Development Centre of Shenzhen University.
Flocks of birds fly over the Dongyong mangrove wetland in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo/Li Jianqiang)
The Guangdong Neilingding Futian National Nature Reserve has applied a space-air-ground integrated monitoring system for the mangrove ecosystem, which can rapidly identify bird species and populations, and efficiently obtain key ecological monitoring data.
Technological advances have provided strong support for the precise protection of mangrove forests in a scientific manner. Based on precise monitoring, mangrove protection also requires measures tailored to the ecosystems' dynamic changes.
On Sept. 8, 2023, Shenzhen witnessed the country's first auction of a mangrove carbon sink.
"Protecting the mangrove ecosystem requires the coordination of social resources," said an executive of the Shenzhen Mangrove Wetlands Conservation Foundation (MCF), adding that only by bringing together all the strengths and winning public support can Shenzhen advance the high-quality development of mangrove conservation.
Today, Shenzhen is home to the world's only mangrove ecosystem in the heart of an urban area, Yang said, explaining that it is an important reason why the international mangrove center was established in Shenzhen.
With a new stage of high-quality development for mangrove protection, Shenzhen is committed to improving its top-level design. According to the Shenzhen Wetland Protection Plan (2021-2035), the city will plant and restore at least 51 hectares of mangroves during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) and strive to reach a wetland protection rate of 50 percent by 2035.
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