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Site description (2001 baseline):

Extent of this site: situated in the southwest portion of the Kuantu plain, at the confluence of the Keelung and Tanshui Rivers, to the northwest of Taipei city. This site is about 8-10 km from the mouth of the Tanshui R. so it is tidally influenced. Along the shore of the Keelung R. is a levee, and outside the levee are mainly marshy landforms, mud flats, and tidal channels. Important plants include Kandelia Kandelia candel, Cyperus malaccensis, and Common Reed Phragmites comunis, with the mangrove forming the dominant vegetation, occupying 19 ha. About 55-ha land within the levee contain mostly freshwater and slightly brackish ponds, marshes, wet paddies, irrigation canals, and spoil dirt piles. Passing typhoons with torrential rains cause the flooding areas of the Kuantu Nature Park to increase in size. Here, benthic organisms are abundant, and form a suitable habitat for waterbirds, so the bird situation is excellent. According to the opinion of the Wild Bird Society of Taipei, migrating birds seem to be stopping here for longer periods than in the past due to the rich nutrients in the wet areas of the Kuantu Nature Park, and perhaps, many waterbirds eventually will overwinter here. Kuantu’s old name was Gandou (pole bean) which is what the aboriginals used to call it; later it became today’s Kuantu, a name with almost the same pronunciation.

IBA A4iii criterion species: Green-winged Teal with a maximum number of 10,000 birds. • A total of 293 species have been recorded here, including the Oriental White Stork, (max. 6 birds), Black-faced Spoonbill, Chinese Egret, Lesser White-fronted Goose and Swan Goose.

Non-bird biodiversity: • South of the tidal levee on the Keelung R. there is a mangrove ecosystem. The main aquatic plants are Cyperus malaccensis, Common Reed Phragmites communis, and Kandelia Kandelia candel. After 1978, the mangrove, Kandelia, became the dominant plant species. The north side ranges from aquatic and wetland to agricultural ecology.

• Municipal wastewater from Taipei runs into the Tanshui River, with pollution, including high metals content, leading to eutrophication of the river. • Because gravel and groundwater have been taken from the river and area for many years, there is a serious risk of subsidence, with the resultant salinization by ingress of seawater, causing rapid expansion of the area of the mangrove; the original cover was exposed mudflats, so the ecological balance has been stressed. • The sandy areas of the mangroves are becoming terrestrial. • Spoil dirt is illegally dumped here. • There is a problem with feral dogs. • There are large crowds who come for recreation and tourism.

Lobbying Activities: • On 27 December 1997, the Bureau of Reconstruction of Taipei City Government and the WBFT jointly sponsored a management and administration conference for the Kuantu Nature Park. • On 7-8 September 2000, the Bureau of Reconstruction of Taipei City and the WBST jointly held the International Wetland Management and Administrative Conference, and heard suggestions of experts concerning Taipei’s design of the Kuantu Nature Park. Legislation • In 1983, the Taipei City Government announced the Waterbird Ecological Reserve of 116 ha. • In 1986, the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan used the Cultural Heritage Conservation Law to designate a nature reserve of 55 ha with waterbirds as the main conservation objective. • In 1987, the Kuantu Nature Park was established. The Taipei City Government planned to incorporate this and nearby areas into a nature park, expand the extent of the marshlands, protect wildlife habitats, and thus create an excellent waterfowl activity area. • In 1996, the Taipei City Government proposed a budget of NT$15 billion from taxes to purchase 57 ha of marshland for the Kuantu Nature Park. • It is slated that in July 2001 the park will be formally opened.

(PA)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kuantu (Taiwan, China). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kuantu-iba-taiwan-china on 27/11/2024.