Shankou National Mangrove Ecological Nature Reserve

Shankou National Mangrove Ecological Nature Reserve

Shankou National Mangrove Ecological Nature Reserve

The Guangxi Shankou mangroves are a national-level nature reserve managed by the marine authorities. Located between 21°28′N – 109°43′E, the reserve covers an area of 4,000 hectares and is under the administration of Hepu County, Beihai City, Guangxi. It lies 77 kilometers from Hepu County town and 105 kilometers from Beihai City. The managing authority is the Guangxi Shankou National Mangrove Nature Reserve Administration.

Established in September 1990 with the approval of the State Council, the Shankou National Mangrove Ecological Nature Reserve was among China’s first batch (five) of national-level marine protected areas. It joined the Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1993, was listed as one of China’s Important Wetlands in 1994, established a sister reserve relationship with the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Florida, USA, in May 1997, became part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves in January 2000, and was included in the list of Internationally Important Wetlands in 2002.