Beihai Coastal National Wetland Park

Beihai Coastal National Wetland Park

Beihai Coastal National Wetland Park is a national-level wetland park.

The Beihai Coastal National Wetland Park project is a national wetland park pilot construction unit approved by the State Forestry Administration in 2011. The wetland park is located in Yinhai District, Beihai City, and is a typical representative of the composite coastal wetland ecosystem in southern China.

The total area of the wetland park is 2,009.8 hectares, and it is home to 672 species of vascular plants. It includes five functional zones: a wetland ecological conservation and nurturing area, a restoration and reconstruction area, a science education and exhibition area, a rational utilization area, and a management and service area.

Geographic Location

Guangxi Beihai Coastal National Wetland Park is located in Yinhai District, Beihai City, extending north to the Liji Reservoir, west to Baihutou of Silver Beach, and east to Daguansha. It includes the Liji Reservoir and some surrounding buffer zones (artificial wetlands), the garden expo water system, the Fengjiang River and its 50–200 meter buffer zones along the banks (riverine wetlands), as well as the mangroves and shallow sea areas from the Fengjiang River estuary to the Daguansha seawall (nearshore and coastal wetlands). It is a typical representative of the composite coastal wetland ecosystem in southern China.

Development History

In October 2014, construction began on the Beihai Coastal National Wetland Park project. This project aims to gradually restore the ecological functions of the wetland, improve the wetland ecosystem, and provide suitable breeding and habitat environments for flora and fauna, especially waterfowl, thereby enhancing biodiversity and increasing the coastal landscape value of Beihai City.

By the end of 2014, large-scale mangrove die-offs occurred in parts of the Beihai Coastal National Wetland Park. Near the Fengjiang Bridge by Silver Beach in the wetland park, dead mangroves had been uprooted, newly replanted saplings leaned unsteadily in the tides, and ducks foraged in groups among the mangroves.

Scale

Extending north to the Liji Reservoir, west to Baihutou of Silver Beach, and east to Daguansha, the park includes the Liji Reservoir and some surrounding buffer zones (artificial wetlands), the garden expo water system, the Fengjiang River and its 50–200 meter buffer zones along the banks (riverine wetlands), as well as the mangroves and shallow sea areas from the Fengjiang River estuary to the Daguansha seawall (nearshore and coastal wetlands). The total area of the wetland park is 2,009.8 hectares, of which 1,827 hectares are wetlands, accounting for 90.9% of the total land area.