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Site description (2001 baseline):

Extent of this site: situated in a marshy wetland area on the north side of where the Chihben River empties into the sea. It was formerly the main channel of the Chihben River, and carries the water from the Shemagan River. The current aquatic area is more than 20 ha; in addition, the scope of the site includes protection forests, sea beaches, and the Chihben Estuary. The Chihben wetlands are at an early successional stage of a marshland ecosystem. Dominant wetland plants include Phragmites communis, Typha SP., Barect Grass Leersia hexandra, Broad-leaved Bow Grass Cyrtococcum accrescens, and Armgrass Oplisrnenus compositus. Because development by the Jiedier Company has not proceeded, the sand and gravel brought by estuarine waves and tides have closed the Chihben Wetland’s outlet channel, and the wetland has begun to recover. The marsh again shows vitality; fish, molluscs, and bird species are breeding in this area. It is a surviving natural treasure on the southeast coast of Taiwan.

IBA Al criterion species: Chinese Egrets are passage migrants with a maximum count of 22 birds (April 1996). • At this site. 207 species have been recorded. The maximum number of the endemic Formosan Bulbul recorded here was 162 birds. • This site provides an excellent wetland habitat for waterbirds and in addition to the resident birds, stable numbers are recorded annually of Spoon-billed Sandpiper and other migrants. The maximum number of Violet-backed Starling passing through is over 1,000 birds.

Non-bird biodiversity: • At this site, 18 of protected species have been recorded.

• In 1985, the Taitung County Government and the Jiedier Company signed a contract for the development of the Chihben Recreational Area, with a total area of 285.1163 ha. The plan called for filling in the Chihben Wetlands in order to build a golf course and a recreational leisure area, which would have completely altered the natural ecology, posing a serious threat to the birds and ecological environments of this site. In the end, this development plan was suspended due to land problems. In 1997, the National Property Bureau agreed that the Taitung County Chihben Recreational Development Plan to use 73,746 ha of national land at the site which resolved the development plans land use problems. In January 1998, the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Executive Yuan Issued the permit for the golf course plan. • At the estuary there is illegal extraction of gravel. • Tourists and aboriginals use this area for fishing and harvesting oysters.

Lobbying Activities: • On 1 January 1998, bird societies from many areas banded together to hold an activity to clean the beach and birdwatch. At the same time each organization was asked to appeal to the relevant government agencies to amend the development plan. • In June 1998, Wild Bird Society of Taitung initiated a jointly signed full accounting of the opposition to the recreational plan. • On 10 January 1999, the Wildlife Conservation Consulting Committee, went to investigate the Chihben Wetlands. They recommended that the Chihben Wetlands and its ecological function should be maintained when deliberating on this development plan. The area of the Chihben Wetlands accounts for only 1/4 of the area of the Jiedier golf course, and just 6% of the entire development area. If an appropriate plan were submitted, then it is possible that the golf course and the wetlands could exist and prosper together. • On 23 January 1999, the developer sent excavators to illegally dig the channels and drain the water from the wetlands. The original 20 ha of water was reduced to 2 ha. • On 23 April 1999, the Council of Agriculture convened the negotiation of Chihben Wetlands conservation, where it sought advice and tried to persuade the development agency to amend the fairway placement, so that the golf course and the wetlands could survive together. However, there were no results at that time. • At the end of April 1999, the source of water for the Chihben Wetlands was cut off illegally by the developer who intended to drain water to destroy the wetlands. • On 23 October 1999, the Regional Planning Council of the Ministry of the Interior convened the Jiedier International Golf Course Development Discussion Conference. Results were that under the principles of not conducting another Environmental Impact Assessment and of not changing the important fairway placement. • On 30 December 1999, the Regional Planning Council of the Ministry of the Interior held the Council Meeting No. 81 to discuss this plan, and members were inclined to preserve the natural water areas. They asked the development agency to come up with a new plan with concrete alternatives and present it at the next committee meeting. • On 1 February 2000, at Regional Planning Council meeting No. 82, the developer ultimately completely changed the placement of the golf course fairway, and decided to set the north of the destroyed water channel aside as a conservation area. The aquatic areas of the Chihben Wetland are temporarily saved for the time being.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Chihben Wetlands (Taiwan, China). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/chihben-wetlands-iba-taiwan-china on 25/11/2024.