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Poyang Hu wetlands


Site description (2009 baseline):

Site location and context
Poyang Hu National Nature Reserve is located in northern Jiangxi Province, in the north-western part of Poyang Lake. The nature reserve is located where the Xiu He and Gan Jiang rivers join Poyang Lake, and it includes nine lakes and has a total area of 22,400 ha. In the wet season (April-September) the reserve comprises some 5.65% of the total surface area of the lake. In the wet season all of the smaller lakes are joined to Poyang Lake, while in the dry season there are exposed mudflats with shallower lakes in between.

Key biodiversity

Non-bird biodiversity: Nationally protected animals include Neophocaena phocaenoides and Hydropotes inermis.



Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
The IBA is partially protected in Poyang Hu Nature Reserve (22,400 ha), which was established as at the provincial level in 1983 and upgraded to a national nature reserve in 1989, Nanjishan Nature Reserve (33,000 ha) and Saicheng Nature Reserve (4,000 ha). In 1992, Poyang Hu Nature Reserve was designated as a ‘Wetland of International Importance’ (or Ramsar site) under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and a ‘Class A nature reserve’ by WWF and the State Forestry Administration. In the 1994 China Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan, Poyang Hu was listed as a wetland with conservation priority. Poyang Hu Nature Reserve has joined the North-eastern Asia Crane Network, it has frequent contact with IUCN, WWF, the International Crane Foundation and Wetland International, and it formed partnerships with Mai Po Nature Reserve (Hong Kong) and Daurskii Nature Reserve (Russia) in 1989 and 1993, respectively.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Poyang Hu wetlands (China (mainland)). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/poyang-hu-wetlands-iba-china-(mainland) on 23/12/2024.