Black-faced Spoonbills in Dongfang

Black-faced Spoonbills in Dongfang

　　　　The black-faced spoonbill, a rare bird species with a global population of just over 1,000, has had a safer and more reliable habitat in our province since yesterday. Yesterday morning, the Provincial Nature Reserve Evaluation Committee unanimously approved the proposal to establish the Hainan Dongfang Black-faced Spoonbill Provincial Nature Reserve.

　　The Hainan Dongfang Black-faced Spoonbill Provincial Nature Reserve is located in Sigeng Town, Dongfang City. In January 2004, during a survey of wintering wetland birds in our province, 48 black-faced spoonbills were discovered in Dongfang for the first time. The survey team also found that the spoonbills wintering here faced various threats, such as hunting. Subsequently, the Provincial Forestry Bureau increased protection efforts for the spoonbills at Qianmian Sea in Dongfang, and the Dongfang municipal government also established village regulations to protect them. Thanks to the efforts of relevant departments, the environment around Qianmian Sea has been continuously improving, and the number of wintering black-faced spoonbills has been increasing. In this January’s global synchronized survey, a total of 68 black-faced spoonbills were recorded in Dongfang City, which accounts for over 5% of the global population of 1,206 black-faced spoonbills.

　　As the black-faced spoonbill is an indicator species for wetlands, according to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, any region hosting more than 1% of the global population of black-faced spoonbills should be designated as an internationally important wetland.

　　Yesterday morning, after carefully reviewing the “Overall Planning for the Hainan Dongfang Black-faced Spoonbill Provincial Nature Reserve” and the “Comprehensive Scientific Survey Report for the Hainan Dongfang Black-faced Spoonbill Provincial Nature Reserve,” the evaluation experts concluded that Sigeng Town in Dongfang serves as a precious wintering habitat for this rare and endangered bird species—the black-faced spoonbill. This is of great significance to the world, and it is essential to protect both these wintering spoonbills and their habitat.