Looking down from the air, you will see the rippling water flowing into the lake and sea. A colorful landscape appears amidst the chirping. Some elks play in the short grass while others run on the mudflats. In the unique ecological wetland of Chongming, you can feel the vitality of the “land of natural gifts” at any time.

As China continues to advance the development of ecological civilization, more and more attention is paid to the protection of wetlands with significant ecological functions. Chongming has kept promoting wetland protection and restoration. As of the end of 2022, wetlands accounted for 68.8% of Chongming’s total area and more than half of the city’s total wetland area. How to protect such a unique and high-quality wetland resource has become a key issue. Chongming takes building an international wetland city as the starting point to vigorously promote the implementation of wetland protection and restoration. The second National Ecology Day falls on August 15 this year. The reporter conducted relevant interviews to explore the secrets of the wetland.

Carefully protect natural heritage

There are endless green grass and crisscrossing ditches. From time to time, rare birds leisurely pass by and stay on the vast wetland. At the easternmost tip of Chongming Island and the intersection of the Yangtze River and the East China Sea sits Dongtan Wetland, a well-known “Wetland of International Importance”.

“Chongming Dongtan is an ecologically sensitive area of international importance. It is one of the largest and most typical estuarine tidal flat wetlands in China, and an important part of the flyway of migratory birds in the Asia-Pacific region. A large number of birds need to stop here for food, and store enough energy before flying to their respective destinations,” said the relevant person in charge of the Shanghai Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve Management Center. Not long ago, Shanghai Chongming Dongtan Migratory Bird Habitat in the Reserve was successfully included in the World Heritage List, becoming Shanghai’s first world natural heritage site.

Behind the success of Dongtan Wetland in the world lies the island’s tremendous efforts in striving to protect the most beautiful ecology.

Many years ago, the ecological environment of Dongtan Reserve was affected by the spread of the invasive alien species Spartina alterniflora. Relevant staff recalled that the well-developed root system of Spartina alterniflora often “tied” the tidal flat soil into a “monolithic whole”, making it difficult for birds’ food plants to survive, and compressing the activity space of benthos. Since 2013, the Reserve has carried out large-scale ecological restoration. In addition to controlling the growth and expansion of Spartina alterniflora, it restored functions of bird habitat, created 56 habitat islands with relevant effects, and restored and created high-quality floodplain habitats totaling nearly 450,000 square meters. With the implementation of ecological restoration projects and the implementation of Yangtze River protection measures, the number of migratory birds in Dongtan has increased year after year.

Biodiversity significantly increased

Just like Dongtan Wetland, Xisha Wetland is also a “paradise” for fish, shrimps, crabs and birds. As the only natural wetland in Shanghai with tidal phenomena and vast tidal flats, Xisha Wetland is unique and typical in China and even the world. The water forests and vast reed marshes show different colors throughout the year, presenting a beautiful scene that visitors cannot miss. Besides, they are “contributors” to optimizing the tidal flat environment.

These are the epitome of Chongming’s efforts in wetland protection and management. Wetlands are of special significance to Chongming. They not only have ecological service functions but also provide valuable ecological spaces. Chongming continues to make efforts to build an island of “wetland”.

The Chongming District Wetland Management Committee was established as a district-level wetland protection professional organization. Chongming District Wetland Protection Plan (2022-2030) was issued, proposing systematic plans for wetland protection, restoration, rational use and capacity building. Since 2020, the Spartina alterniflora removal and wetland restoration project in the section from Beibayao Port to Beiliuyao Beach has been completed in five batches. Since the “12th Five-Year Plan”, the city’s three-year special policy for forestry has been used to build the Pearl Lake River Deer Habitat, Xisha Wetland Ecological Restoration (Phase I) (Phase II), Xincun Town Elk Habitat and other projects, providing examples for the management, utilization and improvement of small wetland resources and wildlife habitats in the district. In recent years, these wetlands look like “emerald pearls” that make Chongming more attractive. Specifically, they include 2 international (national) important wetlands and 7 municipal important wetlands.

The protection of Chongming Wetland mainly includes nature reserves, wetland parks, forest parks, water source protection areas, aquatic germplasm resource protection areas, and others forms (ecological protection red lines, important wildlife habitats, etc.)

These measures have gradually produced results. Thanks to the in-depth development of ecological civilization in Chongming District, together with the fruits of wetland protection, afforestation, and fishing ban in the Yangtze River, the overall ecological base of the three Chongming Islands continues to improve.

“Animals and plants have the most say in whether the ecological environment is good or not.” A relevant person in charge of the Forestry Section 1 of Chongming District Greening and City Appearance Bureau introduced, “For example, the rich biodiversity of wetlands provides an important living and habitat environment for the elves of nature.” According to monitoring records, the biodiversity of Chongming Wetland has increased significantly. The number of water bird species, which accounts for more than 1% of the global total, has stabilized at more than 12. The number of bird species exceeds 300. Rare and endangered species such as the Oriental white stork, black stork, white-headed crane, bald sea eagle, Chinese sturgeon, Chinese sucker, and finless porpoise live here. The recovery of extremely small populations such as the Yangtze alligator, river deer, and elk has achieved some results.