An ecological restoration project on the mangrove wetland at the mouth of Shenzhen River in Futian District will be initiated, according to a notice released by the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau on Friday.
The first phase of the project will cover 4.3 hectares of mangrove forest in the area.
The area was once a tidal flat.
Starting in 1990, sonneratia trees, a species of mangrove trees, were brought from Hainan Province and introduced to Shenzhen Bay to rehabilitate the mangrove forest.
However, sonneratia trees grow fast, and they eventually started to take over the habitat from local trees and shrubs. In 2018, the Shenzhen River estuary recorded 18 hectares of sonneratia trees. Some measures were taken to bring in more local trees, but there are still 13 hectares of exotic sonneratia trees in the area.
The purpose of the project is to reduce the impacts of exotic mangrove plants on local mangroves in Guangdong Neilingding Futian National Nature Reserve, Hong Kong Mai Po Nature Reserve and Futian Mangrove Ecological Park, and to slow down the spread of exotic mangroves in Shenzhen Bay, to limit their occupation of the Shenzhen Bay beach and to provide more habitats for winter migratory birds.
Shenzhen Mangrove Wetlands Conservation Foundation (MCF) submitted the plan to the municipal authority in September this year. After an expert consultation, the plan was passed to further enhance the wetland’s ecological value.
The work totaling more than 4.6 million yuan (US$687,000) will be covered by MCF.
In order to minimize interference to migratory birds, the project will adopt a step-by-step approach, including planning, cleaning, repair and maintenance.
The project is scheduled to be conducted from November to May of the following year and is expected to end Oct. 15, 2023.
The restoration of native mangroves is mainly through natural restoration, supplemented by artificial restoration with the help of plants such as argan and tung blossom trees.