Thousands of acres of mangroves in Guangxi, known as the "Guardians of the Coast," are facing an existential crisis: a pest called the teak camel moth is rampant, leaving only bare branches in the forest, looking yellow from a distance. At present, the area of mangrove insect pests in Guangxi is thousands of mu. As of September 23, 5,543 mu of mangrove forests in Fangchenggang City alone had been affected, of which 3,080 mu were severely affected. (China Youth Daily, October 24)
Rooted in the shoals, the mangrove forest complex is known as the "coastal barrier" because of its unparalleled ecological regulation function. But today's mangrove forest, but little by little by the teak moth surrounded and swallowed, its affected area, the extent of the disaster, so that this nature's "darling", has long lost its former appearance.
Supposedly, mangrove forests are located in wetlands, abundant food, and have always been a paradise for birds, and among these migratory birds and seabirds, there is no shortage of natural enemies of teak moths, so why let them be so rampant? In this regard, the local authorities blamed it on the factors of low precipitation and continuous high temperatures this year. It is true that the hot climate is indeed conducive to the breeding of pests, but the hot weather will not make the birds disappear. Obviously, this is not a compelling reason.
However, an expert from the Guangxi Mangrove Research Center did tell the truth: the construction of some coastal cities has approached the coast, endangering the growth of mangroves and destroying the self-protection ability of mangrove ecosystems. Perhaps, this is the crux of the mangrove forest's tragic "encroachment" by the teak moth.
As it turns out, this is not alarmist: just by a bay, next to a mangrove growth belt stretching for several kilometers, several construction projects are under construction, which is what the reporter witnessed as an "ongoing style". Is this the only such project? It is this day-to-day "encroachment", the area of mangroves in Guangxi has dropped sharply from the highest 50,000 hectares in history to the current 7300 hectares, coupled with the "tiger for the tiger" of coastal urban life and industrial sewage, the living space of mangroves has shrunk sharply, not only the loss of individual species, but also the serious damage to species diversity and ecological balance, which has led to today's teak moth "a worm rampant".
To my surprise, some local people are relieved to face the "insect bites" of mangroves: after two or three months, the vast majority of the affected plants will grow new shoots and will not die. It is said that the same pest occurred in the Mountain Pass Mangrove Forest Reserve in Beihai City in 2010 and later "healed itself". However, the author dares to ask two questions: the vast majority of them survived, so didn't the dead few feel painful? Are the "survivors" who have been infested by insects and are already "weak" or the original mangrove forest? How much of their power to protect against wind and waves, to promote siltation, to fix the berm, and to purify seawater and air remain?
In fact, the "bad luck" of mangroves may also be related to some local "workaround" practices: for example, marine, forestry and other departments require that urban engineering construction needs to occupy mangrove land, and the total area of mangrove forests should be ensured through off-site cultivation. On the surface, it seems that the total area is not less, but once the original ecosystem is damaged, can the forest belt cultivated in different places be integrated with it? Moreover, mangroves have high environmental requirements and slow growth, and the effect of off-site cultivation is often not good.
Obviously, although mangroves are diseased by "insect pests", the root cause of their diseases is in ecological crisis. In this way, it is right to treat insects locally without pesticides, otherwise it will be even more unmanageable if it harms birds. But more importantly, starting from the roots, we can completely reverse the living conditions of mangroves. For example, curbing the drive of interests, setting up red lines to protect areas, and not allowing any project construction to "cross the mine pond"; in addition, for enterprises and residential communities that discharge sewage, the method of "walking on two legs" should be taken as appropriate to achieve a cure.
Mangroves are a gift from nature, protecting it and loving it, benefiting the contemporary era and contributing to the future. Of course, environmental protection will pay an economic price, but which is more important, I believe that the relevant local departments will weigh it themselves. However, at present, the mangrove forest that is "scaled" by the teak moth may heal itself in a few months, but if the ecological crisis remains, can such a "weak and windy" mangrove forest group still be called a "coast guard"?
Text/Xu Fuxiang
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