International connections on the conservation of birds

Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Convention is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. AFCD is the administrative authority of Hong Kong's Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site. (For more details, please refer to “Wetland Conservation”.)

East Asian - Australasian Flyway Site Network

The Mai Po Inner Deep Bay area is one of the important staging sites along the “East Asian-Australasian Flyway”. It joined the “East Asian – Australasian Shorebird Site Network” and “The Anatidae Site Network in the East Asian Flyway” in 1996 and 2001 respectively to facilitate information exchange for migratory bird conservation work with other staging sites. In 2006, the two networks were transited to the new “East Asian-Australasian Flyway Site Network” to continue the roles in coordinating communications and cooperations.

Around 440 species of birds have been observed in this area. About 14 species are considered globally threatened and near-threatened including the Black-faced Spoonbill, Far Eastern Curlew, Nordmann’s Greenshank and Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Some 50,000-60,000 waterbirds of 70 species can be found in this wetland in mid-winter every year. Among them, about 10 species have numbers exceeding 1% of the global or regional population. AFCD implements a wetland conservation and management plan to conserve the ecological value of the area.