Endorsed by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Key Laboratory of Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems(Xiamen University) was established in November 2011. It is founded on decades of research in mangrove ecology, diatom biology and parasite zoology at Xiamen University led by pioneering scientists, among whom are professors Dexiang Jin, Zhongzhang Tang (member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Peng Lin (member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering). 

WEL is dedicated to interdisciplinary cutting-edge research on coastal and wetland ecosystems under the impact of global climate change, with a particular focus on the structure, function, and restoration of coastal wetland ecosystems in the tropical and subtropical regions. 

The mission of WEL is to promote research and to advance scholarship in coastal wetland ecology, to provide scientific support for the conservation and restoration of coastal wetland ecosystems, and to contribute to the ecological civilization construction and the sustainable economic growth in China.