Evaluation of coastal wetland degradation in China

According to the quantified goal and the acquirability of corresponding data, we determined 8 indicators for evaluating coastal wetland degradation, and defined the evaluation method. The coastal wetland degradation was divided into5 levels. Twenty eight areas of coastal wetland in China were evaluated, and 4, 14 and 10 areas belonged respectively to be seriously degraded, moderately degraded and lightly degraded. The main reasons leading to coastal wetlands degradation in China involved natural factors, such as climate change and marine disasters, etc. and also involved human activities, such as coastal reclamation, coastal engineering, over-exploitation of biological resources, environmental pollution and so on.Hereby, the main countermeasures to mitigate degradation and improve the environment of coastal wetland should include the improvement of system institution, construction of nature reserves, coordinated development of management system, and establishment of ecological compensation system.