HAIKOU, February 3. /TASS/. Hainan's Forestry Administration and the Haikou municipality organized an online interagency promotion to protect wetlands, reported the Hainan Daily.
According to the newspaper, the event is timed to coincide with World Wetlands Day, celebrated annually on February 2. It was held under the slogan "Interdependence of water, life and natural lands". The main topic was the conservation of wetlands as an important source of fresh water.
During the event, the parties discussed such issues as maintaining the quality and increasing the volume of water resources, carrying out works to prevent the process of desertification and land degradation. Government experts paid attention to the impact the natural reservoirs have on the growth of the population's well-being.
According to the newspaper, the participants of the event touched upon the problem of water supply in Haikou, the administrative center of the province with the largest population in the region. The area of wetlands in this part of the island exceeds 29,000 hectares. Their expansion is partly due to the liquidation of unproductive agricultural farms engaged in fish farming in artificially created ponds. Part of this territory will then be considered for forest areas suitable for many species of birds and animals.
The imbalance in the distribution of water on the island arises from the specifics of the relief: Hainan's central part is located on an elevation, and low-lying areas are located along the perimeter. Because of this difference, during rains, rivers discharge excess water into the sea, often flooding some settlements. At the same time, the western and southern parts of the province, as well as the coastal strip, where the largest cities are located and the highest population density is recorded, are experiencing a moisture deficit.
According to the plan for the formation of a water supply network, by 2035 the Hainan administration will completely solve the problem of water resources shortage and complete the creation of a system for their efficient distribution. The authorities plan to completely modernize the island's unified water supply network, the area of artificial irrigation of which will exceed 5,300 square kilometers.