China's mangrove forests expanding: study

BEIJING -- China's mangrove forests have seen an overall increase of 335 hectares since 2018, according to a remote sensing study conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The Land Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center under the ministry used data from China's self-developed satellites in 2018 and the first half of 2020, to analyze the areas of mangrove forests.

Remote sensing results showed that China's mangrove forests are mainly distributed in areas including Guangdong province, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Hainan province. Guangdong province has the largest mangrove area, accounting for 41 percent of the total stretch.

A total of 487 hectares of mangrove forests were added in 2020 from 2018, of which 59 percent were artificially-planted and 41 percent restored naturally. Around 150 hectares of mangrove forests have depleted, some of which are caused by human activities such as pond reclamation and port construction.

According to sources at the center, they will make full use of satellite remote sensing and other technologies to continuously monitor mangrove forest growth and the impact of human activities, to support mangrove conservation and ecological restoration.