As China Builds More on the Sea, Nature’s Beauty Gets Buried

China’s mangrove swamplands are disappearing at an alarming rate.

These saltwater marshes, unique to tropical and subtropical areas such as southern China’s Pearl River Delta, serve as spawning grounds for aquatic life, major stops for migratory birds and shields for coastlines. However, mangroves have grown expendable in land-scarce coastal regions as land reclamation became an easy path to higher tax revenue, economic growth and better livelihoods for locals.