Mangroves are unique as trees that thrive in saltwater. Despite bringing huge environmental benefits to coastline regions, they have been in decline globally. However, mangrove ecosystems in China have steadily expanded since 2000. Reporter Chen Mengfei reports from a natural reserve in south China.
CHEN MENGFEI, Fangchenggang, Guangxi: “I’m at the Guangxi Beilun Estuary National Nature Reserve, located on the westernmost end of China’s southern coast. The Beilun River, which runs between China and Vietnam, flows into the South China Sea here. This creates a unique mix of freshwater and seawater, where these special group of trees called mangroves can survive and thrive.”
Mangroves are enormously important for the environment. They buffer sea waves, purify water, shelter marine wildlife, and absorb a lot of carbon, a superpower in the age of climate crisis. But from 1950 to 2000, China lost more than half of its mangroves due to land reclamation, shrimp and rice farming, industrial expansion and other factors.
Government intervention was able to reverse that decline in the new millennium, making China one of the few countries in the world now seeing a net increase in mangroves. Here in Fangchenggang, protection measures began as early as 1983, when these forests were designated a conservation area by the local county.
In 2000, it was upgraded to a national nature reserve, which means more funding for staff. Experts say a series of environmental laws and regulations have been instrumental in restoring the mangroves. In 2022, China’s first-ever Wetlands Protection Law went into effect, giving mangroves unprecedented legal shields.
TANG QIAO, Head of Publicity and Education Department, Guangxi Beilun Estuary National Nature Reserve: “So the stronger the law is, the more we’ve got a stronger basis when we do law enforcement work in the field, and the greater the deterrent effect it will have.”
Tang Qiao from the reserve works with local communities to raise awareness about the need to protect mangroves. She also collaborates with research institutions to study how to better care for the mangroves and explore ways to generate more revenue, such as incorporating aquaculture without damaging the environment.
One of the biggest challenges she believes is the lack of talent in the field. More than three quarters of China’s mangroves are now located in protected areas. In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for respecting science when protecting mangroves, and last year he labeled them a national treasure.
CHEN MENGFEI, Fangchenggang, Guangxi :”China’s mangrove areas accounts for less than one percent of the world total. Progress made here can be amplified by the sharing of experience and know-how with nearby Southeast Asian countries, where one third of the world’s mangroves are. Cooperation initiatives have already been announced.”