World votes for 1st intl. mangrove center in SZ

The 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP14) in Switzerland’s Geneva officially passed a draft resolution on building an international mangrove center in Shenzhen yesterday morning Beijing Time.

The draft resolution called for China and other interested countries to jointly contribute to the establishment of the center, which will focus on protection, restoration and rational use of mangroves and the coastal blue carbon ecosystem.

Moreover, interested parties, nongovernmental organizations and social organizations are also encouraged to participate in the building and operation of the center in an open, inclusive and transparent way. At the same time, the center is urged to closely cooperate with mangrove mechanisms in other parts of the world.

President Xi Jinping proposed the idea to build an international mangrove center in Shenzhen in his speech via video during the COP14’s opening ceremony Nov. 5.

Shenzhen has vowed to advance the high-quality preparatory work on the center’s establishment and enhance international exchanges and cooperation on ecological protection and governance, according to a city government meeting held Nov. 8.

Futian Mangrove Ecological Park. Wang Haolan

Lei Guangchun, board chair of Shenzhen Mangrove Wetlands Conservation Foundation (MCF), told the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily that the building of the mangrove center is highly significant to conservation, restoration, scientific research and sustainability of mangroves worldwide.

“Mangroves are a globally endangered wetland ecosystem that plays a key role in global biodiversity, and many species such as birds and fish depend on mangroves for living. The building of the Shenzhen center shows China’s sense of duty in participating in global governance and promoting wetland protection as a responsible major country,” Lei said.

Chris Rostron, international engagement manager of the U.K.’s leading wetland conservation charity Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, said: “We support China’s proposal to build an international mangrove center as mangroves play an important role when it comes to carbon capture and storage as well as reduction.”

The COP14 was held in China’s Wuhan and Switzerland’s Geneva from Nov. 5 until yesterday.

The establishment of the international mangrove center means Shenzhen will shoulder more responsibility for international exchanges and cooperation, as well as become an important base for global mangrove protection and international cooperation, according to the municipal planning and natural resources bureau.

The Shenzhen Wetland Protection Plan (2021-2035) is currently being compiled, and it aims to explore a wetland protection mechanism suitable to Shenzhen as an international metropolis and improve protection of important coastal wetland areas such as Shenzhen Bay, Daya Bay and the Pearl River estuary.

According to the plan, by 2035, Shenzhen will strive to achieve a 50% wetland protection rate, maintain a stable wetland area, effectively improve the ecological status of coastal wetlands, optimize the quality of wetland ecological space in built-up areas and build itself into an international wetland city.