Wetland Management Training Programme to Empower Conservation along the EAAF

The Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site is a crucial habitat for migratory waterbirds along the EAAF
ⓒ Orca Yu / WWF-Hong Kong

Fion Cheung, Manager – Flyway Planning and Training, WWF-Hong Kong

The 380-ha Mai Po Nature Reserve (MPNR), which is located in the northwestern part of Hong Kong, is within the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site. The Ramsar Site features a diverse range of habitats, including mudflats, mangroves, freshwater marshes, traditionally-operated shrimp ponds (known as “gei wai”) and fishponds, which are essential to over 50,000 wintering waterbirds, along with an additional 20,000 to 30,000 migratory shorebirds. Notably, there are over 5% of the global population of endangered black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor) winter here. In addition to the 466 bird species recorded, the site also serves as a refuge for a variety of other wildlife such as Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), leopard cat (Prionalurus bengalensis), Burmese python (Python bivittatus) and four-spot midget (Mortonagrion hirosei). New species continue to be described from this biodiversity hotspot, such as the Mai Po box jellyfish (Tripedalia maipoensis) which was first discovered in 2020.

A wide range of waterbirds using Mai Po as staging area or wintering ground
ⓒ John and Jemi Holmes

In 1983, WWF-Hong Kong started managing the MPNR. Utilizing MPNR as a “living case study,” WWF-Hong Kong has been sharing experience and knowledge on wetland management, habitat restoration, research & monitoring, environmental education and ecotourism with other wetland sites along the EAAF since 1990.

Wetland management training has been provided for over 5,000 conservationists since 1990
ⓒ WWF-Hong Kong

The Programme features experiential and interactive training modules which can be tailor-made according to the background, job duties and specific needs of participants. Field visits to other wetland sites, country parks and education centres in Hong Kong are also organized. To date, over 5,000 wetland managers from mainland China and elsewhere in Asia have been trained. Most of them reflected that the Programme offers eye-opening opportunities that fundamentally change their perspectives on conservation.