SANYA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- China announced in September its approval to establish the Huangyan Dao National Nature Reserve in a necessary measure to protect its coral reef ecosystem, a move that has drawn significant attention both domestically and internationally.
The reserve is located in Sansha City, Hainan Province, covering an area of 3,523.67 hectares.
Huang Huamei, a scholar from South China Sea Development Research Institute under the Ministry of Natural Resources, offered an overview on the establishment and management of this reserve at an event titled "Climate Change and Marine Ecological Conservation" on Thursday, which is part of the 6th Symposium on Global Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance held in Sanya.
NATURAL CONDITIONS
Huangyan Dao is located in the Zhongsha Islands and represents a typical coral atoll. Its shape approximates an isosceles right triangle.
During low tide, large portions of the reef flat around the atoll become exposed, revealing numerous reef blocks. Even at high tide, rocks remain exposed at the northern and southern tips.
The coral reef ecosystem at the reserve is in good condition. Overall, the Huangyan Dao coral reef ecosystem is healthy and stable. The scleractinian coral communities demonstrate strong resistance and tolerance to seawater warming.
THREATS FACING HUANGYAN DAO
Amid global climate change and intensifying human activity, Huangyan Dao's ecological condition faces several potential threats.
It faces the threat of rising sea surface temperatures under the broader context of global climate change. From 1993 to the present, both sea surface temperature and the degree heating weeks index in the waters surrounding Huangyan Dao have shown an overall upward trend. When thermal stress exceeds a certain threshold, it can trigger large-scale coral bleaching and even mass mortality events.
The area where Huangyan Dao is located is susceptible to extreme weather events. On average, two tropical cyclones pass within 150 km of Huangyan Dao each year. Under global climate change, the intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones are expected to increase further, posing a threat to the growth and development of coral reefs at Huangyan Dao.
There is also a potential risk of outbreaks of coral predators at Huangyan Dao, especially the threat from crown-of-thorns starfish.
In addition, the waters surrounding Huangyan Dao, rich in fishery resources, face an underlying risk of overfishing. Without enhanced management, overfishing could disrupt the predator-prey balance, ultimately destabilizing the coral reef ecosystem.
NECESSITY OF A NATURE RESERVE
Huangyan Dao is the only large atoll in the Zhongsha Islands area exposed at low tide. The Huangyan Dao coral reefs are relatively isolated and continuously healthy in the central South China Sea, with scleractinian coral communities demonstrating strong resistance and tolerance to rising sea temperatures, making them one of the globally representative examples of this type of natural ecosystem.
It harbors rich biodiversity. A 2024 survey recorded more than 100 reef-building scleractinian coral species. All reef-building scleractinian corals in Huangyan Dao are listed as protected wildlife in China; among them, nearly half of the coral species are categorized as threatened or vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Located far from the mainland and subject to minimal human disturbance, the coral reef ecosystem of Huangyan Dao remains largely in an undisturbed, natural state.
The establishment of a nature reserve constitutes a crucial component of China's protected area classification system, and the Huangyan Dao National Nature Reserve exemplifies China's strong commitment to enhancing the protection of typical ecosystems like coral reefs.
Huangyan Dao has been designated as a national nature reserve under China's legal framework. Huangyan Dao is a typical natural geographic area with representative natural ecosystems, and it serves as a natural habitat for rare and endangered species. It meets the criteria for establishing a nature reserve and should therefore be protected as such.
In addition, Huangyan Dao holds exceptional scientific and social value, serving as an excellent germplasm resource bank for fishery resources in the South China Sea and also a natural laboratory for studying pristine ecosystems.
In November 2024, China officially announced the baseline points of its territorial sea at Huangyan Dao. Designating this reserve facilitates the protection of these baseline points, strengthens China's firm defense of its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and supports sustained and effective ocean governance.
Huang called for jointly establishing a coral reef ecological protection alliance, building marine ecological corridors through multiple approaches, such as for seabirds, sea turtles, and collectively implementing marine ecological conservation and research. ■
