Mai Po Marshes (; Hong Kong Hakka: ''Mi³bu⁴ Sip⁵ti⁴'') is a nature reserve located in San Tin near

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang Wa ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. it is within

Yuen Long District Yuen Long District (Hong Kong Government Cantonese Romanisation, formerly Un Long) is one of the districts of Hong Kong, districts of Hong Kong. Located in the northwest of the New Territories, it had a population of 662,000 in 2021. Geogra ...

. It is part of Deep Bay, an internationally significant

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

that is actually a shallow

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

, at the mouths of Sham Chun River,

Shan Pui River The Shan Pui River (also known as Yuen Long Creek) () is a river in Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong Kong. It has many tributaries, most of them starting from inside Tai Lam Country Park. It passes six villages and is joined by a few more strea ...

(Yuen Long Creek) and Tin Shui Wai Nullah. Inner Deep Bay is listed as a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

in 1995, and supports globally important numbers of wetland birds, which chiefly arrive in winter and during spring and autumn migrations. The education center and natural conservation area is wide and its surrounding wetland has an area of 1500 acres (6 km²). It provides a conservation area for mammals, reptiles, insects, and over 350 species of birds. The reserve is managed by the World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong since 1983 and WWF runs professionally guided visits for the public and schools to the reserve; the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has responsibilities for the Ramsar site as a whole. Deep Bay faces threats, including

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

, local urban development plans and rising

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

levels that perhaps arise from intense

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

, especially (in recent years) on the north,

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

side of the bay. In recent years, it housed over 55,000 migrating birds, including Saunders's gull (''Chroicocephalus saundersi'') and a quarter of the world's Black-faced spoonbill (''Platalea minor'') population. However, the overall numbers are declining every year. The critically endangered Spoon-billed sandpiper (''Calidris pygmaea'') is still recorded regularly on migration. The reserve also includes inter-tidal

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove sal ...

along with 24 traditionally operated shrimp ponds (called Gei Wai locally) to provide food for the birds. Mai Po Marshes receives some 32,000 visitors annually. While the area was taken out of the Frontier Closed Area on 15 February 2012, Mai Po Nature Reserve remains a restricted area under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Chapter 170) in order to minimize disturbance to wildlife. Visitors need a 'Mai Po Marshes Entry Permit' to enter the Reserve. By joining a WWF professionally guided activity and be part of a small group ecovisit, WWF will take care of permits for you. Individuals can apply for a permit by writing to the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department of Hong Kong Government. The aforementioned Individual Permits normally take about a week to be processed. 38 mammal species inhabit the reserve, more than anywhere else in Hong Kong. Mai Po is home to one of the highest densities of

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

in the territory, however they are nocturnal and rarely seen. Small Asian mongooses are quite common in the reserve, often encountered by visitors near Gei Wai ponds during the day in winter. A small population of

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

s, a locally endangered species, is found in Mai Po. The marshes also have rich insect biodiversity, housing the endemic Mai Po bent-winged firefly ('' Pteroptyx maipo'') was discovered. Not only was the species new to science, but it was also the first time for the genus '' Pteroptyx'' has been recorded in China. To understand the seasonal population changes, distribution and habitat requirements of the species, WWF Hong Kong have been carrying out firefly surveys of the nature reserve. The surveys have also incorporated

citizen science The term citizen science (synonymous to terms like community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is research conducted with participation from the general public, or am ...

participation, and using this approach to further monitor the biodiversity, WWF have incorporated

iNaturalist iNaturalist is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe. iNaturalist may be accessed via its web ...

and the City Nature Challenge into activities at their Mai Po centre.

Avian flu outbreak

In February 2008, the Hong Kong government closed Mai Po for 21 days following the discovery of a

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. R ...

infected with

H5N1 Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) is a subtype of the influenza A virus, which causes the disease avian influenza (often referred to as "bird flu"). It is enzootic (maintained in the population) in many bird populations, and also panzoo ...

, also known as avian flu. The closing marked the fourth in as many years and was consistent with the government's policy of closing Mai Po whenever an infection is discovered within a 3 kilometer radius of the premises. The

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

criticized the government, however, for what it called a discrepancy between the standards for closing Mai Po and the comparably less strict standards applied in urban areas. The

wanted compensation of 1 million

Hong Kong dollar The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of Hong Kong. It is divided into 100 cents. Historically, it was also divided into 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong an ...

s. WWF then claimed that the government had not compensated it for lost income.

Education

Mai Po is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 74. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and one government school: Yuen Long Government Primary School (元朗官立小學).

References

External links

Official WWF-HK Mai Po Webpage

Mai Po Biotope Mapping Key
{{Yuen Long District Places in Hong Kong Ramsar sites in Hong Kong Nature conservation in Hong Kong Nature reserves in Hong Kong World Wide Fund for Nature Mai Po

Avian flu outbreak

Education

See also

References

Further reading

External links