The Deep Bay wetland

Hong Kong is fortunate in that it contains the very important wetland area of Deep Bay, in the northern New Territories. Although there are other wetlands, this is the most important in terms of the number of waterbirds it supports. The Deep Bay are comprises a number of different kinds of wetland: fish ponds, gei wai shrimp ponds, fresh and brackish water marsh, streams, reedbeds and intertidal mudflats which lie at the juncture of land and water.

Deep Bay¡¦s importance as a wetland is greatest during the migratory and wintering seasons, when approximately 100,000 waterbirds depend on its habitats for their survival. These birds breed or winter in different parts of the Asia-Pacific region as far apart as Siberia and Australia, and mean that Deep Bay is of international importance. This has been recognised in the designation of the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay wetland as a ¡¥Ramsar Site¡¦, i.e. a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.