On May 18, the reporter visited the damaged mangrove forest in Beihai, Guangxi and found that a large number of leaves were covered with white matter. Several workers were washing the leaves with tap water. Pipes and sprinklers were also being laid on site.
On May 17, the Ministry of Ecology and Environmental Protection notified that after the construction of the sea-related part of the Tieshan Port East Port Area, Beihai, Guangxi, started in June 2017, the cofferdam was not yet closed, and a large amount of sewage containing kaolin entered the mangrove area. The construction of the project resulted in the weakening of regional hydrodynamics, and the accumulation and adhesion of suspended kaolin on the mangroves, affecting its respiration and photosynthesis, resulting in large-scale deaths of mangroves.
As of May 2020, the damaged area of mangroves in the region reached 257.67 mu, of which 155.07 mu was severely degraded, 102.6 mu died, and the number of dead plants reached 37,988. The regional ecosystem was seriously damaged.
(Reporter Zhai Liqiang and Wang Weichen produced by Le Xiaomin)
Editor in charge: [Li Ji]