From a conservation perspective, the wetlands around Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay are Hong Kong's crown jewels. In recent years, more than 60,000 migratory waterbirds have wintered in these areas, including globally endangered species such as the Saunders' Gull and 20 percent of the world's population of Black-faced spoonbill. During the spring and autumn migrations, some 20,000 to 30,000 shorebirds regularly use the Mai Po mudflats as a site to rest and refuel before they continue their long journeys.
More than 380 species of birds have been recorded from these wetlands, with 20 of them considered to be threatened. More than one percent of the world's population of Saunders' gulls and the Spotted greenshanks visit Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay.
In addition to supporting waterbirds, the site also features a mosaic of wetland habitats such as inter-tidal mudflats, a stand of inter-tidal mangrove trees that is the sixth-largest protected stand in China, traditionally managed shrimp ponds, and fishponds. There is also a reedbed that is probably the largest in Guangdong province.
After years of advocacy by WWF and other organizations, the Hong Kong government in 1995 listed 1,500 hectares in Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay as a Ramsar Site, a "Wetland ofInternational Importance" under the Ramsar Convention. Today, WWF is privileged to manage these beautiful, tranquil and productive wetlands on behalf of the people of Hong Kong. For WWF's own virtual tour, click on this link.
