ENG-2003 — Page 356

THE ENVIRONMENT

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The Mai Po Marshes form one of the most important wildlife conservation sites in Hong Kong. Together with the Inner Deep Bay area, the Mai Po Marshes area was listed as a 'Wetland of International Importance' under the Ramsar Convention in September 1995. About 1 500 hectares of mudflats, fish ponds, marshes, reedbeds and dwarf mangroves provide a rich habitat for migratory and resident birds, particularly ducks and waders. Some 300 species of birds have been observed in this area, many of which are considered globally threatened and endangered, such as the black-faced spoonbill, Oriental stork, Nordmann's greenshank and Saunders' gull. The AFCD implements a wetland conservation and management plan to conserve the ecological value of the area.

The traditional fung shui woods near old villages and temples and the secondary forests provide important habitats for many woodland birds. Sightings in wooded areas include warblers, flycatchers, robins, bulbuls and tits.

Areas around the Kowloon reservoirs are inhabited by monkeys descended from individuals that had been released or had escaped from captivity. There are breeding groups of long-tailed macaques and rhesus macaques, and their hybrids. Feeding of monkeys has been prohibited since July 1999 to prevent unnatural growth of the monkey population. Other mammals like barking deer, leopard cats, Chinese porcupines, Chinese ferret badger, masked palm civets, small Indian civets, wild boar and bats are quite common in the countryside. Sightings of less common species such as Eurasian otters, Javan mongooses and Chinese pangolins are occasionally reported. Hong Kong has over 100 species of amphibians and reptiles. There are 23 species of amphibians and three of them Hong Kong cascade frog, Hong Kong newt and the endemic Romer's tree frog - are protected by the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance due to their endemic status or very restricted distribution in Hong Kong. Most of the 50 species of snakes are harmless and reports of people being bitten by highly venomous snakes are very rare in Hong Kong. Among the nine native species of chelonians, the green turtle is of particular interest as it is the only known species of sea turtle breeding locally. The AFCD has been satellite-tracking green turtles nesting in Hong Kong to better understand their migration biology. The results have shown that the two turtles under study migrated to feeding grounds in the coastal waters off Hainan Island.

Marine Fauna

Hong Kong is in the sub-tropical region, and its marine environment supports species of both tropical and temperate climates. Local waters contain a wide diversity of fishes, crustaceans, molluscs and other marine life, of which at least 150 species are of significance.

Set on the eastern bank of the Pearl River's estuary, Hong Kong receives freshwater discharged from the river, especially in its western waters. The eastern waters, on the other hand, are little influenced by the Pearl River outflow and have a predominantly oceanic characteristic. This special hydrographic condition helps to contribute to the diversity of marine life found in Hong Kong.

Despite being close to the northern limit for hard corals, Hong Kong supports some 80 stony coral species. This diversity of corals is considered quite rich by international standards. A variety of marine fishes also breed in Hong Kong waters. Typical of eastern waters is the red sea bream, one of the several sea bream varieties whose fry are abundant along the shore of Mirs Bay in early spring.