THE State Forestry Administration of China yesterday approved the Wusong Paotaiwan Wetland Forest Park in Baoshan District as a national park.

Wusong wetland stretches 2,250 meters and is located in the area where the Huangpu, Yangtze and Yunzaobang rivers converge. More than 60 percent of the park — about 106 hectares — is wetlands.

The area was once a steel slag backfill and iron sandpit of Shanghai No.5 steel and iron factory in the 1950s and 1960s, leading to river pollution.

In 2005, the first phase to restore the area’s ecological environment was launched. The second phase was undertaken in 2011.

A wetland restoration project was undertaken several years ago. Today, it boasts 108 varieties of plants and 144 varieties of birds.

Wusong is the second national wetland park in Shanghai after the Xisha wetland in Chongming.

The park operator said it will raise awareness about wetland protection among the general public.

The Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau said it will issue regulations to protect the wetlands. The city has 377,000 hectares of wetlands spread over in Chongming, Pudong and Qingpu districts.

About 84 percent of them are natural wetlands. Shanghai is making efforts to restore wetlands like the Dalianhu Lake in Qingpu District and the Nanhui Dongtan bird habitat in the Pudong New Area.

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