Covering four counties (cities) and four districts, Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve (ZMNNR) situates at the southernmost tip of Mainland China on the Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong Province (109 o 30’ to 110 o 55’ East, 20o 12’-20 o 35’ North).

Distribution map of mangrove resourse of Zhanjiang City

The government of Guangdong Province authorized establishment of Zhanjiang Mangrove Provincial Nature Reserve in 1990. With permission of the State Council, the provincial reserve was elevated to National Nature Reserve rank and renamed as Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve on 7th of November. ZMNNR had a total area of 20278.8 ha, 7256 ha of which covers by mangroves and accounts for 79% of all mangrove areas in Guangdong province and 32% of the national total. It is a nature reserve with largest mangrove area with the most species and the most concentrated distribution in the mainland China. Classified into a nature reserve of forest and wetland type, it mainly protects mangrove resources, adjacent mudflats, water and wildlife living in such area. The inclusion into the Ramsar list in January 2002 enabled the reserve to become an internationally important area in protecting biodiversity and ecosystem. In 2005 the reserve was appointed as a national monitoring site both for bird epidemic disease and coastal protection forest.

Rich in natural resources, ZMNNR is the region with the most mangrove species in coastal areas in China including 15 families and 25 species of mangroves. The species with the greatest quantity and the most extensive distribution are Avicennia marina, Aegiceras corniculatum, Rhizophora stylosa, Kandelia candel, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza. The main mangrove stands include Avicennia marina, Aegiceras corniculatum, Kandelia candel, Rhizophora stylosa, and Avicennia marina + Aegiceras corniculatum, Aegiceras corniculatum + Kandelia candel, Aegiceras corniculatum + Rhizophora stylosa. Of the 194 species of birds recorded at Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve (ZMNNR), 7 and 34 bird species at ZMNNR are separately protected by national and provincial legislation. 149 species are listed among State-Protected Wild Terrestrial Fauna that are Beneficial or Valuable in Economic and Scientific Research. 80 species are protected by the Sino-Japanese Migratory Bird Treaty, 34 by the Sino-Australian Migratory Bird Treaty, and 50 by the Sino-USA Migratory Bird Treaty.

One species is protected by listing in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES), while 7 additional species are listed in Appendix II. Four species are listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN Redlist of Threatened Birds. The reserve therefore provides a habitat, stopover and filling station for resident birds. Three orders, 41 families, 76 genera and 110 species of shellfish were recorded in the sampled intertidal habitats. Among the families, Veneridae was the best represented with 20 species. Two species collected are new fauna records for the coastal zone of mainland China, Glauconome virens Linnaeus, Meretrix Lyrata (Sowerby), and Cassidula nucleus (Gamelin). 15 orders, 60 families and 100 genera, 139 species of fish were recorded. Economically valuable shellfish and fishes are abundant in the mangrove area of Leizhou Peninsula, including 28 shellfish species of economic importance and 32 fish species of economic importance.

At present, with objective of constructing a multifunctional and internationally known nature reserve in ten years, ZMNNR has sped up constructing infrastructure, enhancing strength in scientific research, building up innovated management system and exploring the human resource system with full challenge.