Development warning for Hainan coast

Booming property development and construction in China's tropical southern island of Hainan is turning the beautiful coastline into a concrete jungle full of hotels and development zones, Chinanews.com reported on Wednesday.

The website reported that almost half the province's 785.7-kilometer shoreline, 320 km, has been used for construction and development.

An insider with an environmental conservation committee told the website that the coastline is suffering unsustainable development and erosion.

Huang Bo, deputy director of the Ocean College of the Hainan University, said the overdevelopment of the coast will bring unpredictable damage to Hainan's ecology and biodiversity.

"Many coastal shelter forests, which can dissipate or deflect potential wind and wave power and protect coastal life and properties from natural disasters, are disappearing," Huang said.

Although Hainan authorities are also aware of the problem and launched a crackdown on the illegal development and construction on the coast, the high profits in property development and land hoarding make the problem difficult to tackle.