Designation date: 04/09/95 Ramsar Site no. 750 Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS) – 2009-2014 version Available for download from http://www.ramsar.org/ris/key_ris_index.htm. Categories approved by Recommendation 4.7 (1990), as amended by Resolution VIII.13 of the 8th Conference of the Contracting Parties (2002) and Resolutions IX.1 Annex B, IX.6, IX.21 and IX. 22 of the 9th Conference of the Contracting Parties (2005). Notes for compilers: 1. The RIS should be completed in accordance with the attached Explanatory Notes and Guidelines for completing the Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands. Compilers are strongly advised to read this guidance before filling in the RIS. 2. Further information and guidance in support of Ramsar site designations are provided in the Strategic Framework and guidelines for the future development of the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Wise Use Handbook 14, 3rd edition). A 4th edition of the Handbook is in preparation and will be available in 2009. 3. Once completed, the RIS (and accompanying map(s)) should be submitted to the Ramsar Secretariat. Compilers should provide an electronic (MS Word) copy of the RIS and, where possible, digital copies of all maps. 1. Name and address of the compiler of this form: FOR OFFICE USE ONLY. Ms. Connie Ka-yan NG, DD MM YY Wetland and Fauna Conservation Officer (Monitoring), Wetland and Fauna Conservation Division, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Designation date Site Reference Number 7/F., Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, HONG KONG. Tel.: 852 2150 6922 Fax: 852 2377 4427 Email: [email protected] 2. Date this sheet was completed/updated: 5 December 2012 3. Country: The People’s Republic of China. 4. Name of the Ramsar site: The precise name of the designated site in one of the three official languages (English, French or Spanish) of the Convention. Alternative names, including in local language(s), should be given in parentheses after the precise name. Mai Po Marshes and Inner Deep Bay (also referred as 米埔內后海灣 or Mai Po Inner Deep Bay) 5. Designation of new Ramsar site or update of existing site: Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS), page 2 This RIS is for (tick one box only): a) Designation of a new Ramsar site ; or b) Updated information on an existing Ramsar site 6. For RIS updates only, changes to the site since its designation or earlier update: a) Site boundary and area The Ramsar site boundary and site area are unchanged: or If the site boundary has changed: i) the boundary has been delineated more accurately ; or ii) the boundary has been extended ; or iii) the boundary has been restricted** and/or If the site area has changed: i) the area has been measured more accurately ; or ii) the area has been extended ; or iii) the area has been reduced** ** Important note: If the boundary and/or area of the designated site is being restricted/reduced, the Contracting Party should have followed the procedures established by the Conference of the Parties in the Annex to COP9 Resolution IX.6 and provided a report in line with paragraph 28 of that Annex, prior to the submission of an updated RIS. b) Describe briefly any major changes to the ecological character of the Ramsar site, including in the application of the Criteria, since the previous RIS for the site: No major changes to the ecological attributes, namely waterbird abundance and species composition, biodiversity, of the Ramsar Site are observed. 7. Map of site: Refer to Annex III of the Explanatory Note and Guidelines, for detailed guidance on provision of suitable maps, including digital maps. a) A map of the site, with clearly delineated boundaries, is included as: i) a hard copy (required for inclusion of site in the Ramsar List): ; ii) an electronic format (e.g. a JPEG or ArcView image) ; iii) a GIS file providing geo-referenced site boundary vectors and attribute tables . b) Describe briefly the type of boundary delineation applied: e.g. the boundary is the same as an existing protected area (nature reserve, national park, etc.), or follows a catchment boundary, or follows a geopolitical boundary such as a local government jurisdiction, follows physical boundaries such as roads, follows the shoreline of a waterbody, etc. The boundary of the Ramsar Site is delineated following natural watercourse and geopolitical boundary in the north and physical boundaries such as roads and catchment in the South. 8. Geographical coordinates (latitude/longitude, in degrees and minutes): Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS), page 3 Provide the coordinates of the approximate centre of the site and/or the limits of the site. If the site is composed of more than one separate area, provide coordinates for each of these areas. Centre coordinates: 022o29’20” N 114o01’44” E 9. General location: Include in which part of the country and which large administrative region(s) the site lies and the location of the nearest large town. Yuen Long, Northwest New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Population of Yuen Long District: 578,529 (from 2011 census, http://www.census2011.gov.hk/en/district-profiles/yuen-long.html) Distance between the centre coordinate of the Ramsar site and the closest town (Tin Shui Wai Park, Tin Shui Wai) is approximately 4.5km. 10. Elevation: (in metres: average and/or maximum & minimum) 0 m (sea level) 11. Area: (in hectares) 1,540. 12. General overview of the site: Provide a short paragraph giving a summary description of the principal ecological characteristics and importance of the wetland. A shallow bay with extensive intertidal mudflats backed by mangal, tidal shrimp ponds (gei wais), fishponds, and reedbed in some gei wais and along the coast. The site serves as an important over- wintering site to the waterbirds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and accommodates a wide variety of flora and fauna. The mangal is the largest in Hong Kong and one of the few largest in China while the reedbed is the largest in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province. The fishponds are generally used for commercial fish farming though some have been abandoned. The gei wais which were used for traditional culturing of penaeid shrimps in Hong Kong have been preserved as an important semi-artificial or artificial habitat for the waterbirds. 13. Ramsar Criteria: Tick the box under each Criterion applied to the designation of the Ramsar site. See Annex II of the Explanatory Notes and Guidelines for the Criteria and guidelines for their application (adopted by Resolution VII.11). All Criteria which apply should be ticked. 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 8 • 9 14. Justification for the application of each Criterion listed in 13 above: Provide justification for each Criterion in turn, clearly identifying to which Criterion the justification applies (see Annex II for guidance on acceptable forms of justification). Justification of each criterion is listed below. Criterion 2: The site regularly holds 23 globally threatened species, according to the 2012 IUCN Red List (13 listed species in 1990-94) as show in the following table. IUCN Common Name Scientific Name Red list CMS CITES National Status Appendix Appendix Status Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi CR Grade I Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS), page 4 Baer's Pochard Aythya baeri CR Appendix I Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus CR Appendix I Appendix I Grade I Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus CR Appendix I Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana EN Appendix I Appendix I Grade I Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor EN Appendix I Grade II Appendix I Nordmann's Greenshank Tringa guttifer EN Appendix I Grade II Appendix I Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus VU Appendix I Grade II Swinhoe's Egret Egretta eulophotes VU Appendix I Grade II Phillippine Duck Anas luzonica VU Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus VU Appendix I Appendix Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga VU Appendix I II Grade II Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris VU Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca VU Appendix I Appendix I Grade I Numenius Far Eastern Curlew madagascariensis VU Relict Gull Ichthyaetus relictus VU Appendix I Appendix I Grade I Saunders's Gull Chroicocephalus saundersi VU Appendix I Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha VU Grade II Styan's Grasshopper Warbler Locustella pleskei VU Manchurian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus tangorum VU Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias brunneatus VU Japanese Yellow Bunting Emberiza sulphurata VU Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola VU Appendix I Criterion 3: The site is the type locality for 16 species of invertebrates as shown in the following table, and the majority of which are not reported elsewhere in the Indo-Malay biogeographic region according to the best available information. Taxonomy Species Arthropoda Sesarminae, Decapoda Chiromanthes maipoense Aoridae, Amphipoda Grandidierella sp. nov. Corophidae, Amphipoda Kamaka sp. nov. Melitidae, Amphipoda Melita sp. nov. Victoriopisa sp. nov. Talitridae, Amphipoda Talorchestia sp. nov. Apseudidae, Tanaidacea Discapseudes sp. nov. Pectinariidae, Polychaeta Lagis crenulatus Noctuidae, Lepidoptera Schrankia bilineata Geometridae, Lepidoptera Thalassodes maipoensis Arachnida Scheloribatidae, Acarina Dometorina rostrata Annelida Oligochaeta Limnodriloides biforis L. fraternus Rhizodrilus russus Mollusca Bivalvia Pseudypythina maipoensis Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS), page 5 Nemertea Nemertea Procephalothrix orientalis Moreover, a new species of bent-winged firefly Pteroptyx maipo (Coleoptera: Lampyridae), which was first found in the Hong Kong Wetland Park, occurs in the site with limited distribution in the Deep Bay area. So far this species can only be found in Hong Kong. The site also harbors the damselfly species Mortonagrion hirosei (Four-spot Midget), which is classified as near-threatened (IUCN 2012) and only sparsely occurs in Hong Kong, Guangdong Province of China, Japan and Taiwan.