Shenzhen to build international mangrove center

The wetland at Futian Mangrove Nature Reserve. [Photo/Shenzhen Press Group]

An international mangrove center will be developed in Shenzhen, as China announced at the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP 14) in Wuhan and Switzerland's Geneva on Nov 5.

Sun Lili, founder and honorary chairwoman of the Shenzhen Mangrove Wetland Conservation Foundation (MCF), said: "We are delighted to see that the potential of mangroves in tackling climate change, maintaining and restoring biodiversity, and promoting sustainable development is being widely recognized.”

She added that the MCF will uphold its original commitment, integrate social forces, and fully support the development of an international mangrove center in Shenzhen.

MCF was established in 2012. It is the first foundation in China to publicly elect citizens as directors and supervisors and the first local environmental protection public fundraising foundation initiated by the private sector in China.

In early 2015, the foundation officially took over the management of the Futian Mangrove Ecological Park, becoming the country's first environmental protection public welfare organization to manage urban ecological parks.

Shenzhen has about 213.6 hectares of mangroves, which are known as the "green lungs of the ocean". The city is currently preparing for the "Shenzhen Wetland Protection Plan (2021-2035)".

Shenzhen has proposed that by 2035, the city's wetland protection rate should reach 50 percent, the total wetland area should remain stable, the ecological status of coastal wetlands should be improved, the quality of wetland ecological space in built-up areas should be optimized, and the city should become an international wetland city.