Conservation

WWF is creating solutions to the most serious conservation challenges facing our planet, helping people and nature to thrive.

Conservation Work in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway

Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay lie at the heart of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), which extends 13,000 km from the Arctic Circle through Southeast Asia to Australia and New Zealand. The EAAF is home to over 50 million migratory waterbirds from over 250 different populations, including 28 globally threatened species. Each year these birds fly between their breeding and wintering grounds and in doing so rely on a network of staging (or stop-over) sites where they can rejuvenate before continuing on their journey.

These birds share the flyway with 45% of the world's human population and are declining rapidly due to the loss of wetland habitats to development, pollution and hunting. The rate of decline is the fastest of the eight global flyways.

WWF undertakes a number of projects and initiatives within the EAAF and is a member of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway partnership.
Asia Waterbird Conservation Fund

Asian Waterbird Conservation Fund

The Asian Waterbird Conservation Fund was established to provide financial support to waterbird conservation projects in the East Asia – Australasian Flyway. Priority is given to projects that lead to the conservation of migratory waterbirds and their important wetland habitats, as well as those which bring socio-economic benefits to the local community at the site. Each year WWF makes a single call for applications to the Fund with the deadline of 31 October.

Click here to learn how to apply for the Fund.
Click here to download the application form.
Click here to read about projects we have supported.
Wetland Management Training

Wetland Management Training

Mai Po Nature Reserve’s extensive facilities serve as a prime location for hands-on training in wetland management. Click here to learn more about the Wetland Management Training Programme. Please contact our training staff directly at Tel: +852-3193 7506, +852-3193 7507, Fax: +852-2482 0369 or Email us.

Education
The biodiversity of the Mai Po and Deep Inner Bay wetlands are a rich source for ongoing study and environmental education. Click here to learn more about regional projects.
Gei Wai in Haifeng, China

Demonstration Sites

Generous sponsorship from HSBC, which includes five years of funding (2006-2011), enables WWF to deliver projects in the Zhangjiang Estuary Nature Reserve in Fujian and the Haifeng Nature Reserve in Guangdong Province. The work on management of habitats, participation by local communities and education on sustainable development in these reserves establish good models for other wetlands sites in mainland China to follow.
Google Satellite Duck Tracking - Oeing 44815

Waterbird Migration Research

Waterbird migration is not only an incredible wildlife phenomenon but an essential ecological process vital to the long-term survival of this group of birds. Understanding this complex process is a challenging task for conservation scientists whom employ a number of techniques to track and re-sight waterbirds as they move between breeding and wintering grounds.

In Hong Kong, the Mai Po Nature Reserve is a station for locally-based researchers to conduct studies on migratory waterbirds that use the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Collectively these studies contribute to the formulation of a flyway-wide conservation strategy.

Duck Satellite Tracking
Funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the Satellite Tracking Project is a collaborative effort to study wild duck migration from Hong Kong, and gain insight into the ecology and epidemiology of avian diseases.

Freshwater ponds near the Mai Po Education Centre attract ducks by the hundreds. The fitting of some with satellite transmitters allows their journeys to be tracked over thousands of kilometres.

Click here to read about the project
Click here to view the current locations and migration paths of the tagged ducks. You can view the tracking by installing Google Earth on your home computer.

Shorebird Ringing
WWF-Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Bird Ringing Group have collaborated for over 30 years to carry out migratory shorebird ringing at the Mai Po Nature Reserve. Most studies involve the fitting of leg-markers onto shorebirds so that their migration can be monitored upon recapture or re-sighting.

Since the adoption of combination colour leg-flags in 2001, more than 1,000 shorebirds have been marked with the Hong Kong combination colours and re-sightings of Hong Kong shorebirds are received annually from other countries.

Click here to read more.

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