In Shenzhen, there is a municipal park called Futian Mangrove Ecological Park. To the west of the park, which is named after a mangrove forest, is the 368-hectare Futian Mangrove Forest Nature Reserve, the country's only national nature reserve located in the urban hinterland and hidden among high-rise buildings.
Managing the "small key" to Shenzhen Bay
Futian Mangrove Ecological Park is currently under the overall management of the Mangrove Foundation (MCF), the first municipal park in the country to be handed over by the government to a social organization for trusteeship. Because of its special strategic ecological location, government departments and ecological experts have formed a professional management committee to supervise and assess the management of MCF.
The Mangrove Foundation (MCF) gave the park a cute nickname, "the little key to Shenzhen Bay" -- the park's long and narrow location is shaped like a key; at the same time, it is the "little key" that guards the entrance to the Shenzhen Bay, and the "little key" that guards the entrance to the Shenzhen Bay. "
The park is located in a long and narrow area, shaped like a key; at the same time, it is not only the guardian of the entrance of Shenzhen Bay, but also the "small key" to open the public to understand and learn about coastal wetlands, and participate in the protection of the action of the "small key.
The park was officially opened at the end of December 2015, nearly two years, its appearance in the government departments, experts support and help, in the Mangrove Foundation (MCF) partners of the efforts of the small, quietly changing:
It is quiet: whether it is early in the morning or evening, there is no treble horns, there is no square dance, where visitors to the public, you can only hear the All kinds of insects and birds chirping. The sound decibel here is used as a daily monitoring index, control at any time;
After a rainstorm, it is not stagnant: at the beginning of the design, the park has adopted the "sponge city" design ideas, every typhoon and rainstorms, the park can be quickly restored to its original state, so that the public can rest assured that the community can be used;
The park's lake surface has two Ecological floating islands: the park adopts the initiative of "artificial positive intervention", birds can perch on the floating islands, but can keep a distance from human activities, people can enjoy the birds but will not hurt the birds;
Here, mangrove forests have been restored to a large number of mangrove forests, the old Xinzhou River estuary mangrove forests, although still small and sparse, but visitors can already see the local species of mangrove trees again. see native species of mangroves again.
MCF staff also planned "wildflower and weed" areas, honey plant areas, amphibious cradles ...... and more for the park to enhance the ecological environment, as well as cleaning up a large number of invasive alien species.
Preparing a five-star "hotel" for migratory birds
"After we do the fishpond renovation, what is the most ideal effect we can achieve?" A young girl in the communication department of the Mangrove Foundation (MCF) once asked her colleagues in the conservation department. "If nothing else, the bird population will increase exponentially this year ......"
This conversation took place one day in the first half of 2016. It wasn't until November 2016 that the conversation was confirmed.During August and September 2016, staff from the Mangrove Foundation's (MCF) Conservation Department began to enter the Futian Mangrove Nature Reserve to renovate Fish Pond No. 4, which is about 11 hectares in the reserve's pilot area. In an inspired idea, colleagues from the Communication Department called the renovation plan the "Migratory Bird Hotel Upgrade Plan" - that is to say, according to the requirements of waterbirds on the choice of habitat and the need to control the water level, the seven small fishponds that were originally divided were combined and opened up to form irregularly-shaped fishponds with gentle slopes, small islands and different depths. slopes, small islands, and shallow areas of varying depths.
The renovation was completed in late October, just in time for the annual migratory bird season. 9 hectares became habitat for waterfowl at high tide levels, and about 2 hectares became freshwater habitat, increasing the size of the wetland watershed by 15 percent.
Exceeding expectations, data from bird monitoring in the area by staff of the Mangrove Foundation (MCF) showed that the number of bird species increased from 66 to 85, with plovers increasing from 5 to 14; a maximum of 32 black-faced spoonbills were recorded stopping over at one time; and the largest number of birds recorded in a single visit reached 6,199, eight times more than the number of birds recorded in the previous year!
Exploring ways to protect coastal wetlands
According to the survey of "China's Coastal Wetland Protection and Management Strategy Research Project Report", there are several major features in China's coastal wetland protection at present: firstly, most of the wetlands belong to densely populated areas; secondly, they basically belong to the most economically developed areas; and thirdly, they are also the short boards of China's ecological environment protection.
How to make up for this short board? In its five years of existence, the Mangrove Foundation (MCF) has gradually accumulated experience in mangrove and coastal wetland protection: through innovation and the creation of a "social participation model of protection", government support and social organizations to carry out the work of the perfect combination of public participation. "Since the establishment of the Mangrove Foundation (MCF), it has also gone through a process of figuring out, and the 'socialized participation model of conservation' has gradually emerged ......" said the current executive director of the Mangrove Foundation (MCF). MCF) current executive director Chen Jinsong introduced.
The Mangrove Foundation (MCF) focusing on coastal wetland conservation is taking Shenzhen Bay as the origin, and through small grants, industry development support, and model replication, the proven conservation model will be extended to a wider range of coastal wetland areas.