Shenzhen maps plan for mangrove management

In the heart of Shenzhen Bay, a mangrove wetland stands between one of China's most densely developed cities and a vital habitat for migratory birds. The Futian mangrove wetland, facing Hong Kong's Mai Po Nature Reserve across the water, has become both a showcase of urban ecological conservation and a core platform for China's growing international cooperation on mangrove protection.

The site is part of the Guangdong Neilingding-Futian National Nature Reserve, established in 1984 and upgraded to national level in 1988. Covering 367.64 hectares, it is China's only national-level mangrove nature reserve located in a core urban area. It became a Ramsar site in 2022.

The reserve is home to 20 mangrove plant species from nine families and has 273 recorded bird species. In the 2026 global synchronized census, Shenzhen Bay, including Hong Kong waters, recorded 341 black-faced spoonbills, accounting for about 4.4 percent of the global total.

Its survival was not inevitable. In 1994, when the planned Binhai Avenue would have crossed the reserve's core area, Shenzhen moved the road 260 meters north. A series of conservation measures have been put in place, including the construction of a 500-meter bird noise barrier, height controls around the reserve, a fishing ban across Shenzhen Bay from 2014 and the release of a local bird-friendly urban planning standard in 2025.

Nationally, China has enacted the Wetland Protection Law and continued campaigns for wetland protection, mangrove restoration and the control of invasive smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), the country planted 9,200 hectares of mangroves, achieving its target ahead of schedule, while its total mangrove area reached some 30,300 hectares.

The International Mangrove Center in Shenzhen has given this work a wider role. China proposed the establishment of the IMC at the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in November 2022.

In June, Myanmar signed the establishment agreement of the IMC, becoming the 21st signatory to the document, according to the interim secretariat of the IMC.

Since 2024, it has held six international workshops, bringing together 137 representatives from 30 countries. Each lasting about two weeks, these workshops combined lectures, discussions and field visits for participants from government agencies, international organizations, research institutes, national parks and protected areas, said Peng Peng, director of the interim secretariat. Topics included mangrove policies, restoration techniques, blue carbon, community co-management and transboundary cooperation.

In June, a workshop for the Asia-Pacific in Shenzhen gathered 24 representatives from 10 economies, as well as the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership and the Ramsar Regional Center — East Asia, he said.

Based on feedback from workshops and member states, the IMC is preparing a Global Mangrove Status and Key Issues Report and mangrove datasets for signatory states. It is also studying blue carbon policies, market mechanisms and best practices in governance, community engagement and financing.

Futian offers a practical example of what such exchanges can draw on. Shenzhen has invested more than 300 million yuan ($44.2 million) in estuary and coastal mangrove restoration, fishpond rehabilitation and habitat management, covering 220 hectares and adding more than 30 hectares of mangrove planting within the Shenzhen Bay area.

Since 2016, the reserve has restored nearly 40 hectares of former tidal shrimp ponds by clearing reeds and tall vegetation, reconnecting waterways, creating intertidal mudflats and building circular deep-water zones. These former aquaculture ponds have been transformed into high-tide roosting habitats for waterbirds.

The efforts have paid off. The number of black-faced spoonbills roosting overnight in Futian's fishponds, for instance, has exceeded 150, reaching a record high in recent years. The number of the species recorded in Shenzhen Bay rose from 82 in 1994 to 328 in 2025.

Digital tools have refined management. Since 2020, the reserve has installed 27 high-definition video systems and 50 infrared cameras. Together with AI bird identification, automatic image screening and intelligent sluice management, the system helps managers adjust water levels and track bird activity in real time.

Mangrove protection is also being linked with ecological value and public participation. On Sept 26,2023, China's first auction of mangrove conservation carbon credits was completed in Shenzhen at 485 yuan per metric ton, with proceeds earmarked for restoration.

By the end of 2025, Futian's nature education programs had attracted more than 1 million students from over 300 schools.

For coastal economies facing stronger storms, habitat loss and pressure on fisheries, mangroves are increasingly seen as natural infrastructure. China's experience, from Futian's urban wetland management to the IMC's training and knowledge sharing, suggests that conservation works best when law, science, monitoring, public education, blue-carbon mechanisms, community livelihoods and international cooperation are treated as parts of the same system.