Rethinking China's new great wall
DOWNLOADNovember 21, 2014 - Zhijun Ma, David S. Melville, Jianguo Liu , Ying Chen, Hongyan Yang , Wenwei Ren, Zhengwang Zhang, Theunis Piersma, Bo Li
Journal or Book Title: Science
Keywords: biodiversity, wetlands, ecosystem services, China
Volume/Issue: Vol. 346, Issue 6212
Page Number(s): 912-914
Year Published: 2014
China’s position as the world’s second largest economy is largely due to its rapid economic growth in the coastal region, which comprises only 13% of China’s total land area, yet contributes 60% of the GDP. To create extra land for the rapidly growing economy, coastal wetlands have been enclosed by thousands of km of seawalls, whose length is close to that of China’s famous ancient “Great Wall” (see figure). This new “Great Wall”, covering over 50% of the total length of coastline along mainland China (1), caused a dramatic decline in internationally shared biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, and will threaten regional eco-security and sustainable development. Here we outline these problems, analyze the drivers behind wetland reclamation, and propose measures for effective wetland management.
DOI: 10.1126/science.1257258
Type of Publication: Journal Article