Budai Wetlands (14291)
Taiwan, China, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1d
Year of last assessment: 2001
National site name: Budai Wetlands
Central coordinates: Latitude: 23.3500, Longitude: 120.1333
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 3
Area of KBA (km2): 41.87245
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Extent of this site: to the north is reclaimed lands on the south side of the canal at Budai Harbor; the southern border is the southern levee of the Bachang River; the eastern border is Provincial Highway 17 to the edge of No. 8 and 9 Budai salt fields; on the west, are inundated flats where the Longgong and Bachang Rivers enter the Taiwan Strait. There are several villages at this site, with most residents living on ocean. The economic sources include aquaculture, fishing, and drying salt. The main terrestrial area includes the No. 6-10 salt fields and the artificial aquaculture ponds as well as human cultivated wetlands. Through these areas, the Longgong and Bachang River systems pass through this area and enter the Taiwan Strait on the west side. At the estuary, sand accumulating from the ocean currents has formed a lagoon system. Here the intertidal zones which include the river channel, rivermouth, and lagoon experiences two tidal cycles daily, so the mud flats are alternately exposed and inundated. In addition, the estuary and lagoon support abundant fisheries resources; for these reasons, the area attracts all kinds of shorebirds and flocks of sea birds which both pass through on migration and stay over winter here. The salt fields support bird feeding and roosting, and are the breeding site for some resident species.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: IBA A1 criterion species: Saunders’s Gull, Black-faced Spoonbill: • 26 birds in Dec. 1996; 65 in Dec. 1997; and 21 in Jan. 1999 of Saunders’s Gull were recorded. This site has more space for Saunders’s Gulls, so there is the potential for the flock to expand. • A number of 7 Black-faced Spoonbills was recorded in Jan. 2000 including 2 juveniles. • At this site 150 species have been recorded. • Records of the Black-winged Stilt are 24 birds in 1995; 82 in 1996; 105 in 1997; 147 in 1998; and 61 in 1999. There has been stable annual growth in the population here, so this site is important to the growth of this population, and there is great potential for further expansion, because of the abundant fisheries resources from the estuary and fish ponds. 13 species of the Laridae winter here or are passage migrants and constitute the largest group than at any site in Taiwan. Each year up to 5,000 Black-headed Gulls, up to 300 Caspian Terns, up to 1,000 Whiskered Terns winter here; and over 1,000 White-winged Black Terns and 500 Little Terns pass through on migration with a small number wintering here. Non-bird biodiversity: • On the western edge of the lagoon there is a dense stand of the Black Mangrove Avicennia marina covering about 6 ha. • There are abundant numbers and species of crabs, including Philyra pisum and Macrophthalmus abbreviatus.
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: • Budai once has the largest area of salt fields with the highest production in Taiwan, and they operate the evaporation ponds up to 287 days per year, with exports to Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, etc.
Land use: agriculture (51%) | not utilised (2%) | urban/industrial/transport (2%) | water management (11%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 25 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 25 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 25 | |
| Artificial - Aquatic | 25 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: • There is seawall construction. At the Haomeiliao Nature Area on the north side of the Longgong River there is a large stand of mangrove. However, the seawall construction by Taiwan Salt Company resulted in the destruction of a portion of the mangrove stand. • There are natural disasters like typhoons, etc. • The proposed coastal highway is scheduled to pass through the site. • There is excessive opening of fishponds. • The sand dunes are disappearing from sand extraction for land reclamation.
Additional information
References: • Wetlands Conservation Workgroup. 1994. 1994 Planning examples of environmentally sensitive areas at the coast of Taiwan- Investigations on bird, mangrove, and wetland. Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan, Taiwan. • Geography Institute, National Taiwan University. 1995. Investigations and research on the sensitive areas of coastal wetlands, sand dunes, sand flats, and lagoons- Investigation and analysis of the coast resources and environmental factors of the western Taiwan. Environmental Protection Administration. • Weng, R. S. Personal unpublished information. • Wetlands Taiwan. Bird Database. • Wetlands Taiwan. 1999. Instructive Manual of the Coastal Wetlands of Southwestern Taiwan. Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan. • Haomeiliao Nature Area Webpage: http://putai.cyc.edu.tw/hmpark.htm