Now Shenzhen | February 27, 2023
THE preparation work for the world’s first international mangrove center in Shenzhen has been officially launched as the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government jointly held the center’s first leadership team meeting recently, sources from the Shenzhen Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau said Saturday.
The international mangrove center will spotlight the recovery and utilization of the mangrove ecological system in the coastal areas of tropical and subtropical regions around the world, build an international platform for international cooperation on mangrove conservation and restoration, support the implementation of the Convention on Wetlands (adopted in 1971), contribute to global biodiversity protection and fight against climate change.
China will build an international mangrove center in Shenzhen, President Xi Jinping said in a video speech at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP14) last November. Later that month, the COP14 meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland officially passed a draft resolution on building an international mangrove center in Shenzhen.
Shenzhen’s Futian mangrove reserve was among the 18 wetlands in China that were designated as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands during this year’s World Wetlands Day on Feb. 2.
At present, Shenzhen nurtures wetlands covering surface area of 35,000 hectares, including 296 hectares of mangrove forests, data from an investigative report on Shenzhen’s wetland resources showed.
According to the Shenzhen Wetland Protection Plan (2021-2035), by 2035, the city will strive to achieve the protection of 50% of its wetlands, maintain a stable wetland area, effectively improve the ecological status of coastal wetlands, optimize the quality of wetland ecological space in built-up areas and build itself into an international wetland city.
ARTICLE FROM: Shenzhen Daily