Hengqin wetlands will guard Greater Bay ecology

An expanded Hengqin National Wetland Park is to be crucial to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ecology system. The State Forestry Administration (SFA) is expected to approve an amended design after reviewing inspection reports and a video of the area, according to a local official.

The national-level title was applied for earlier this year and includes the Mangzhou and Erjing Bay sections. Mangzhou Wetland Park has become an attraction with picturesque scenery comprising plants, water areas, hills, and tidal flats. The park cost about 150 million yuan ($22 million) over two phases. The third phase is under way at a cost of 500 million yuan ($73 million).

The additional ecological landscape now being considered will further protect the coastal ecosystem and position Hengqin as an eco-island. It also is to play a vital role in marine ecological security and creating national wetland parks.

Animation demonstration [Photo courtesy nanfangplus]

The Research, Planning & Design Institute of the SFA had sent investigators to Hengqin Island to see what has already been done and what is planned. The team was led by Bao Daming, chief engineer at the Wetland Conservation & Management Center of the SFA, according to the administration's official website.