Representatives enjoy a photo exhibition on wetland protection in different countries while attending the High-Level Forum on Mangrove Conservation, China’s first of its kind, at Wuzhou Guest House in Futian District yesterday. Lin Jianping
An opening ceremony of the country’s first High-level Forum on Mangrove Conservation was held yesterday at Wuzhou Guest House in Futian District.
The forum aims to further consolidate global consensus, promote mangrove protection, and show the world China’s willingness to act for mangrove conservation.
It is an important action to implement the outcome of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP14) to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands held last November.
The forum has attracted 160 representatives from 29 countries, the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands, and international organizations such as the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
The forum includes a ministerial roundtable, a plenary meeting, and a photo exhibition on wetland protection in the countries.
At the forum, the International Mangrove Conservation Fund was officially launched.
The fund, jointly initiated by the Shenzhen Mangrove Wetlands Conservation Foundation (MCF) and Shenzhen-based Ping An Group, will financially support international cooperation, scientific research and restoration of mangrove.
At the ministerial roundtable, a joint statement was adopted, which states that governments of countries are encouraged to include mangrove conservation and sustainable use in their national planning to maximize wetlands’ ecological and socioeconomic benefits.
The statement also calls for jointly exploring sustainable financing mechanisms and cooperation in areas such as knowledge sharing, scientific research, technology exchange and training, and pilot projects.
The forum will run through Friday.
Since COP14 last November, the Chinese Government has guided and participated in the important affairs of the Convention, improved international exchange and cooperation mechanisms, and prepared for the establishment of the international mangrove center.
China’s mangrove area increased by more than 7,200 hectares compared to the beginning of this century, making the country one of the few countries in the world with a net increase in mangrove area, according to the forum.
Shenzhen is rich in mangrove. In the last 10 years, 43.33 hectares of mangrove forest have been restored.
Attendees listen attentively at the High-level Forum on Mangrove Conservation at Wuzhou Guest House in Futian District yesterday. Photos by Lin Jianping
Sidonia Muhorro Gueze, an official from the Department of Environmental Management of Mozambique, looked buoyant when seeing photos showing her country’s practices in mangrove conservation on display yesterday at Wuzhou Guest House in Futian District, the venue of the opening ceremony for the High-level Forum on Mangrove Conservation.
The photos depicted how Mozambique encourages young people to plant mangrove trees to restore destroyed wetlands in her country.
“It’s important for us to come here to share and tell people what we are doing in my country. For me, the forum is very important because the forum gathers different people to discuss the same matter. People have different ideas,” Gueze said.
This is Gueze’s first time to visit Shenzhen, which “is a beautiful city with a green environment and very friendly people.”
Levi Z Piah, chief technical adviser of Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency, told Shenzhen Daily that the forum is very important because mangroves are so important to survival of the mankind.
“For this forum, we think that it will help in terms of technology transfer, in terms of training, [and] in terms of addressing livelihood issues, to ensure that we protect our mangroves. [It] is so key and so vital for [controlling] climate change,” Piah said.