PART II
10
MANAGEMENT PROPOSALS
Introduction
9.
9.1
With a continually expanding population and improved hours of labour and the consequent extra time available for leisure, coupled with other factors, the number of people turning to the countryside for recreation is increasing. At present very few of those visiting the countryside have an active interest in any form of natural history. However in most developed countries there is an increasing interest in, and awareness of, wildlife and general nature con- servation, as is shown by the booming membership of societies and organizations concerned with this field. There is no reason why Hong Kong will not move in the same direction.
9.2
An example of the casual public interest in wildlife is shown by the number of visitors to the Yim Tso Ha egretry. The egretry is continually wardened throughout the nesting season (April through September) and estimates of the numbers of visitors are given in the game warden's monthly reports (Appendix 4). Although it is not advertised and there is little to see and no viewing facilities or even display notices, it appears that sone 700 people visit the site each month during the summer.
9.3
At the present time no land resources have been set aside for nature conservation and nature education per se. with the ever increasing demand for land for development it is becoming more and more difficult to find suitable areas which could be designated for these purposes. At present increasing importance is being placed on nature interpretation' projects, such as nature trails, to make the public more aware of the countryside and what it has to offer. There is a widespread belief that they (the public) will not only enjoy what they see more, but will do less damage to it if they are given information about what they are seeing, when they see it' (Beazley 1969). Nature trails are still in a development stage in Hong Kong and whilst there may be no accurate data available to indicate their usage, they have been extremely well received by biology teachers and teaching staff of the Training Colleges.
9.4
While nature trails can be very useful. for showing the geomorpholo- gical and botanical features of an area, they are always limited by the difficulty of showing the birds and mammals adequately. The bird collection in the Botanic Gardens occupies a limited site and has little opportunity for expansion and, while it certainly is very popular and serves a useful function by allowing the public to see a considerable range of both native and exotic birds, it is not suited to use as a nature interpretation centro. Lai Chi Kok: Amusement Park has a very small bird collection. Similarly the Ocean Park will have some seabirds on display. There is thus an undoubted need for a site where the public can be assured of seeing birds and where they can learn something about them.
9.5
A Wildfowl Park is particularly suited to this requirement since wildfowl are usually hardy and adapt well to captivity, they are large enough to be seen easily and often have spectacular plunge; they display a wide range of evolutionary adaptations and their long migrations capture the imagin- ation of the public.
9.6
2.
In the light of the above considerations and the information contained in Part I, tentative management plans have been drawn up for the Mai Po Marshes. It must be remembered that there are still considerable gaps in cur knowledge about the area and detailed management plans cannot be proposed until further research has been conducted. However this should not be allowed to inhibit the initiation of interim measures for protection of the area.
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