Rare Chinese egrets have been once again seen at Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve in south
China’s Hainan province since the local mangrove forests were revitalized, said residents living
near the nature reserve.
Located in Yanfeng township, Meilan district, Haikou city, capital of Hainan province,
Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve is the first of its kind in China that focuses on mangrove
forest protection.
With continuous efforts and progress being made in the protection and restoration of local
mangrove forests, the species and populations of wildlife in the nature reserve have been
expanding. The number of bird species recorded in the nature reserve has increased from about
180 to more than 200.
As one of the marine ecosystems with the richest biodiversity in coastal zones of tropical and
subtropical regions, mangrove forest plays an irreplaceable role in maintaining the ecological
security of coastal zones.
China’s mangrove forests are mainly distributed in areas including Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong,
Hainan provinces,and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
The country regards strengthening mangrove forest protection and restoration as a vital part of its
efforts to build marine ecological civilization and protect and restore the ecology of its territorial
space.
In recent years, by establishing nature reserves and taking a series of measures, including
strengthening regulation and control over the use of woodland, returning aquaculture ponds to
forests, maintaining mangrove trees, cultivating seedlings, carrying out patrols and inspections,
and ensuring the fulfillment of responsibilities, China has steadily pushed forward with mangrove
forest protection and restoration and made remarkable achievements in this regard, becoming one
of the few countries in the world with a net increase in the mangrove area.
China’s third national land survey shows that the country now has 406,000 mu (about 27,067
hectares) of mangrove forests.
China plans to build and restore 18,800 hectares of mangrove forests by 2025, said an action plan
jointly issued by the country’s Ministry of Natural Resources and National Forestry and Grassland
Administration last year.
According to the action plan for mangrove forest protection and restoration from 2020 to 2025,
local governments and departments in China are required to give priority to the protection of
mangrove forests, draw ecological protection red lines for mangrove forests and areas suitable for
the growth of mangroves, and ensure strict protection for relevant areas.
Meanwhile, according to the natural law of ecological succession, efforts should be made to
restore mangrove forests, said the action plan.
Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve in Zhanjiang city, Guangdong province, the largest
mangrove nature reserve in China, has made breakthroughs in exploring paths to realizing the
value of ecological products.
On June 8, 2021, the management bureau of Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve, the
Third Institute of Oceanography under China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, and Beijing
Entrepreneur Environmental Protection Foundation signed an agreement on the transfer of carbon
emissions allowance regarding 5,880 tons of carbon emissions, marking the completion of China’s
first blue carbon trading project.
Beijing Entrepreneur Environmental Protection Foundation purchased the allowance to offset the
carbon emissions caused by its activities. The profits from the project have been used for the
management and protection of mangrove forests, the involvement of communities in the
protection of mangroves, as well as other efforts to ensure continuous maintenance of the results
in the ecological restoration of mangrove forests.
The project has given full play to the role of a market-based trading mechanism and realized the
goal of seeking ecological, social, and economic benefits of mangrove resources.
Mangrove forests in Guangdong Zhuhai Qi’ao-Dangan Island Provincial Level Nature Reserve in
Xiangzhou district, Zhuhai city of Guangdong province, attract a steady stream of visitors every
year.
Residents have changed their way of utilizing mangroves as tourism resources, from
beachcombing, digging seashells, and other practices that are harmful to natural resources to
ecological education and edutainment.
The transformation can not only avoid the destruction of mangrove resources, but extend tourism
season, improve tourists’ experience, and increase local people’s income from tourism.
Many regions in China are exploring the possibility of combining ecological remediation and
culture and the proliferation of fishery resources.
By turning abandoned shrimp culture ponds into the mangrove forest, making good use of the
natural productivity and baits to proliferate understory economic organisms, and implementing
sustainable exploitation of resources, people can realize continuous improvement in ecosystems
and continuous production of economic organisms, said Zhao Peng, associate professor at Hainan
University.
According to experts, People can turn ecological advantages into economic advantages and reap
economic benefits from mangrove forests as long as they can well protect and restore mangroves
and bring into full play their ecosystem functions.
