Mai Po Nature Reserve

Mai Po Marshes is a nature reserve located near Yuen Long in Hong Kong. It is part of Deep Bay, an internationally significant wetland that is actually a shallow estuary, at the mouths of Sham Chun River, Shan Pui River and Tin Shui Wai Nullah. Inner Deep Bay is listed as a Ramsar site under Ramsar Convention 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 380 acres wide and its surrounding wetland has an area of 1500 acres . 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; the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has responsibilities for the Ramsar site as a whole. Deep Bay faces threats, including pollution, and rising mudflat levels that perhaps arise from intense urbanization, especially on the north, Shenzhen side of the bay. In recent years, it housed over 55,000 migrating birds, including Saunders's gull and a quarter of the world's black-faced spoonbill population. It also has inter-tidal mangroves along with 24 traditionally operated shrimp ponds to provide food for the birds. Mai Po Marshes receive 40,000 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 in order to minimize disturbance to wildlife. Visitors need a 'Mai Po Marshes Entry Permit' to enter the Reserve which they can apply for by writing to the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department of Hong Kong Government. These permits are free and normally take about four weeks to be processed.
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