Qieding Wetland, Kaohsiung City (44494)
Taiwan, China, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Qieding Wetland, Kaohsiung City
Central coordinates: Latitude: 22.8843, Longitude: 120.1952
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 1
Area of KBA (km2): 1.72757
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Cie Ding Wetland used to be known as Chu-Hu Saltpans. It includes a wide variety of wetland habitats including mudflats, mangroves and abandoned saltpans and sand dunes. Along with the Wu-Shu-Lin saltpans in Young-An, it was the main saltpan in Kaohsiung. These saltpans began production in 1943 and were closed in 1970. In 1976 the City Government allocated the southern portion of the saltpans as part of the Xingda Harbor Fishery Special Area. Xingda Harbor was built in 1987 and used to pump sea salt into Chu-Hu saltpans. The elevation of the wetland is above sea level, and currently only the western side has deep water and mangroves growing along the tidal channels (Cheng 2013). The entire Cie Ding wetland is relatively flat, with Roads 1-6 and 1-1 separating it into northern and southern sections. The northern section lies near Lower Cie Ding village and is about 82 hectares in size. There is an earth dike in the middle of the wetland. The western part of the wetland has relatively deep water, and lies near to Ci-Lo village and a hill (known as “Big Mountain” to the local people) with groves and graves. The entrance off Jen-Ai Road is where residents habitually burn paper money to worship the deities. It was originally planned that the area south of Road 1-1 would become a special zone for the yacht industry but this plan has not been realized. The Marine Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government intends to develop the area for tourism (Lin, 2013).
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: Despite the pressure from development, Cie Ding Wetland is still the largest wetland with the most diverse and abundant waterfowl in Kaohsiung. More than 15,000 migrant birds winter at the site each year, and surveys have recorded over 150 species at the wetland. They include Black-faced Spoonbill, Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Chinese Egret, Greater Painted-snipe, waders (Scolopacidae and Charadriidae), etc. The dominant species is Kentish Plover, with a maximum count of more than 8,000 (Chiehting Ecological and Cultural Association, 2011; Shie 2013). Cie Ding Wetland is closely associated with Young An Wetland (IBA-TW030), which lies to the south. When the birds are disturbed at one wetland, they fly to the other one for refuge. This behavior is particularly apparent for Kentish Plover. In the past, these two wetlands were both part of the Rou Port inner sea. Although the construction of Xingda Harbor changed the local landform, they are connected as important habitats for migrant birds (Lin 2013; Cheng 2013). During a 33-month survey from April 2010 to December 2012, 120 species and 161,850 individuals were recorded at Cie Ding Wetland, with a trend for the total number of birds to increase slowly during the three years. In winter, raptors such as Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) are present, and this IBA is also an important habitat for migratory waders, with Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) being the most abundant species. This IBA is also an important breeding habitat for Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) and Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum). The Endangered Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) is a locally common winter visitor in Taiwan, with half of the world population counted in south-eastern Taiwan every year. It occurs in almost every estruay in Taiwan on migration but in cold winter it is found only in Chiayi and Tainan counties. However, Black-faced Spoonbill has been recorded in this IBA since 2012 and the number increased dramatically recently. The annual peak counts from 2011 to 2013 are 34, 56 and 154 and the peak count to date in 2014 is 212 in February.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Aquatic | 48 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 48 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 5 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use | Abstraction of surface water (unknown use) | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Only in the future | |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Ongoing | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Storms & flooding | Only in the future |
Additional information
References: Chiehting Ecological and Cultural Association, 2011. The ecological survey and guarding plan of Cieding Wetland (in Chinese). Construction and Planning Agency Ministry of the Interior. David Li Zuo Wei, Andrea Bloem, Simon Delany, Georgios Martakis and Jose Ochoa Quintero, 2009. Status of Waterbirds in Asia: Results of the Asian Waterbird Census, 1987-2007. Wetlands International. Ho-Tai Cheng 2013. The specificity of Cieding Wetland (in Chinese). Wetland Taiwan Vol. 88 p4-8. Kun-Hai Lin 2013. The history and volume of Cieding Wetland (in Chinese). Wetland Taiwan Vol. 88 p9-10. Yi-Jen Shie 2013. The development and wetland protection of Cieding Wetland (in Chinese). Wetland Taiwan Vol. 88 p11-17.