Protecting Hong Kong’s wildlife wonderland

Nicole Wong, Chief Executive Officer of WWF-Hong Kong, still vividly remembers the first time she set foot on Mai Po. It was her first day at work with the foundation 20 years ago. She biked to a tower hide on her own. What she saw would transform her life.

“I saw tens of thousands of birds right before my eyes. Why were there so many birds stopping by Hong Kong?” Nicole wondered. “That moment blew my mind. The sheer sense of wonder transformed into a belief that I need to protect and promote this place.” At the time, she was advancing public education for WWF-Hong Kong. She had to introduce the public to the wonders of Mai Po.

Located in Yuen Long, the Mai Po Nature Reserve has long been hailed as a paradise for birds thanks to its highly diverse wetland habitats. The 380-hectare protected zone, comprising mainly inter-tidal mudflats, mangroves, reedbeds and fishponds, offers an extensive habitat for endangered species such as the Eurasian otter and black-faced spoonbill.

Also a vital resting point for migratory birds, Mai Po is the wintering site of over 50,000 birds from Siberia before they head to the southern hemisphere every year. Protected under the international Ramsar Convention, the Mai Po wetlands are hugely important to global ecology.

Since 1983, Mai Po has been managed by WWF-Hong Kong. In 2016, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust donated a HK$347 million grant to fund the reserve’s infrastructure upgrade and improvement programme to provide better education and training facilities to students, members of the public and scholars worldwide.

“This is not only a nature reserve but also an education centre. We hope to preserve it and help the public better understand it,” says Nicole. “You will forge a deeper connection with Mai Po after seeing and feeling what it has to offer.”