World Oceans Day is celebrated every year on 8 June. The oceans are the lungs of the earth, producing 50% of the oxygen needed for human respiration, billions of people rely on the ocean as their main source of protein, and millions of people depend on the ocean for their livelihood. In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly established World Oceans Day, which aims to educate the public about the impact of human activities on the oceans and mobilize and unite the people of the world in the sustainable management of the world's oceans.
While actively responding to the United Nations World Oceans Day initiative, China has also established this day as the "National Ocean Publicity Day" since 2010 to promote the understanding of the oceans and the protection of the oceans in the whole society. The theme of this year's Awareness Day is "Protecting Mangroves and Protecting Marine Ecology".
Poster of the Publicity and Education Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources
Meet the mangroves
Mangroves are woody plant communities that grow in the intertidal zone of tropical and subtropical coasts, and are special ecosystems for the transition from land to sea. Because they can grow in seawater, they play an important role in maintaining biodiversity, preventing wind and waves, maintaining soil, purifying seawater, storing carbon sequestration, etc., and dense and tall mangroves also have the reputation of "coast guard".
Mangrove Infographic
China is in the northern edge of the world's mangrove distribution area, Wu Zhimin, director of the Department of Wetland Management of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, said in a media interview that more than 50% of the country's mangrove area is currently included in the scope of protection, higher than the global average of 25%.
According to people's daily data, China's existing mangrove forest area is about 29,000 hectares, mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian and Zhejiang. The area of mangroves in China has undergone a development process of first decreasing and then increasing. In the 1950s, the mangrove forest area was about 50,000 hectares, and under the dual action of natural and human factors, the mangrove forest suffered great damage, which was reduced to 22,000 hectares in 2000. With the increase in conservation awareness and the government's increased efforts to protect and restore, it increased to about 29,000 hectares in 2019, becoming one of the few countries in the world with a net increase in mangrove area. According to the China Wildlife Conservation Association, there are 36 species of mangrove plants in China (excluding exotic species), including 25 species of true mangrove plants, 11 species of semi-mangrove plants, and 2 exotic species of non-petaled sea mulberry and Laguan wood.
Autumn tomato Hong Kong Wetland Park Map
All mangrove plant species are naturally distributed in Hainan, while there is only one artificially introduced autumn eggplant in Zhejiang.
Various organisms are active in mangroves
Mangroves have marine shellfish such as sieve shellfish, ctenophores scallops, horseshoe snails, phoenix snails and various types of plankton, as well as various types of water birds, seagulls and other biological resources, mangroves are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, and are an important home for marine life.
Where are the beautiful and fun mangroves in China?
At present, there are 52 mangrove nature reserves in China, each of which is beautiful and has its own advantages.
Dongzhaigang Mangrove Forest Nature Reserve Hainan Daily Map
Dongzhaigang Mangrove Forest Nature Reserve in the northeast of Haikou City is the first national nature reserve established in China to protect mangrove ecosystem, with a total area of 3337.6 hectares, of which the mangrove forest area is 1578.2 hectares, and there are 36 species of mangrove plants in 19 families in the area, including domestic endangered species such as red olive plum, Hainan sea mulberry, and water coconut, enjoying the reputation of "marine forest park".
One of the largest existing mangrove nature reserves in China is in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, which consists of 72 protected communities scattered on the Leizhou Peninsula in southwestern Guangdong Province, with a total area of 20,278.8 hectares, of which mangrove forests cover more than 9,000 hectares, accounting for 33% of the country.
Zhanjiang Mangrove Forest National Nature Reserve Data Map
Zhanjiang Mangrove Forest National Nature Reserve has 24 species of real mangrove and semi-mangrove plants in 15 families, and it is also the area with the largest variety of mangroves on the coast of Chinese mainland. In 2002, the reserve joined the Ramsar Convention and became an internationally important wetland.
Futian Mangrove Forest Nature Reserve Wetland China Map
Located on the north east bank of Shenzhen Bay, the Futian Mangrove Forest Nature Reserve is the only mangrove forest area in China located in the urban area, which is called "pocket-sized nature reserve" by foreign experts, and contains rare tree species such as sea lacquer, wood olive and autumn eggplant. It is also a national bird sanctuary, with 189 species of white egrets, black-billed gulls, small blue-footed sandpipers and more than 100,000 migratory birds migrating south here every year to rest their feet or spend the winter.
The Beihai Golden Bay Mangrove Ecological Leisure Resort Tourist Area in the National 4A Scenic Spot List attracts tourists with its unique mangrove landscape, beach wetland landscape and Yanjia folk customs.
Beihai Golden Bay Mangrove Ecological Leisure Resort Tourist Area Infographic
There are about 3,000 acres of sandy mangroves in the scenic area, with lush foliage, turquoise dripping greenery, herons flying on the trees, buzzing butterflies dancing, and crabs crawling and jumping in the water, which constitute a rich biological chain and diverse ecology of the coastal wetland. The scenic spot also has a sea area, the beach stretches for more than 20 miles, the beach is gentle, the sand is delicate, people can lie on comfortable beach chairs, blow the sea breeze to see the sea view, you can also go to the beach to catch fish, dig conch, catch crabs, dig sand bugs, experience the fishermen's life. In the WeChat public platform of the tourist area can also find the latest "catch the sea" time recommendation table, the current epidemic prevention and control stage, the scenic spot launched a tourism policy to benefit the people, as of June 30, visitors to the park can buy "0 yuan tickets" through Ctrip, Meituan platform, in accordance with the admission tips and rules, enjoy free tickets.