Hong Kong Wetland Park Of The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Caring for Wetlands

Hong Kong Wetland Park of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has organised a four-month “World Wetlands Day 2010 Hong Kong Celebration Programme” from October 2009 to February 2010. Over 200 activities was organised, which reached over 7,000 participants.

The theme of “World Wetlands Day 2010 Hong Kong Celebration Programme” was “Wetland, Biodiversity,
Climate Change”. Hong Kong Wetland Park made use of the slogan “Caring for Wetlands – an answer to Climate Change ” to organise a series of educational and promotional activities to match with Ramsar Convention’s “Communication, Education, Participation and Awareness (CEPA)” programme to promote the sustainable use of wetland resources.

Next to the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site, the Hong Kong Wetland Park is one of the important stopover points for migratory waterbirds. Every year, many migratory birds stay in Hong Kong from October to the next March, making it the best period for bird watching. To date, the Park has recorded over 230 bird species, which is about 50% of Hong Kong bird species recorded. 60% of the bird species recorded in HKWP are migrants and 11 species are globally threatened, including Black-faced Spoonbill and Baikal Teal. The Park is also famous for freshwater specialists such as Greater Painted-snipe and Water-pheasant.

Birds are regarded as bio-indicator to the environment, and bird records have been widely used to show the effect of climate change. To encourage more people to observe these beautiful birds and to promote monitoring of the environment as well as relevant impact by climate change, Hong Kong Wetland Park organised the "Bird Watching Festival" to echo with the WWD theme from 17 October 2009 to 28 February 2010. "World Wetlands Day 2010 - Bird Watching Festival" was divided into three major categories, including Public Participation, Environmental Studies and Interactive Wetlands.

The Hong Kong Wetland Park organised "World Wetlands Day 2010 - Bird Watching Festival" in collaboration with various government departments, NGOs and other orgnaisations, including: Yuen Long District Office, Yuen Long District School Development Section, Education Bureau, Hong Kong Observatory, Ming Pao Daily News, Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, MTR Corporation, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, Division of Ecology and Biodiversity The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Council of Early Childhood Education & Service, Hong Kong Origami Society, Theatre Noir and YOUYUN:
Education workshop for teachers on mangrove ecology.

Bird Watching Festival" was divided into three major categories, including Public Participation, Environmental Studies and Interactive Wetlands. Public Participation:

- Wetland Cultural Festival
- Public Lectures
- Painting for the Guinness World Records™
- Bird Watching Guided Tour
- "Birds and Wetlands Snap Shot" Photo Collection
- Friends of Wetlands - Wetland Stamp for Memories
- “My Delightful Park Experience” Corner
- Photography with the "Wetland Animal Star"
- Black-faced Spoonbill Artwork Collection