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Site description (2001 baseline):

Extent of this site: the northern border is the north shore levee of the Tatu River south to the boundary between Shianshi Village and Lugang Township; the eastern border is the Shengang levee, Shihgu section of the seawall, Ehliao north levee, and the Yupu west levee; the western border extends out 3 km from the levee into the Taiwan Strait. This IBA was once the largest among Taiwan’s coastal wetlands in terms of species and number of birds, being listed by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as one of the 12 largest wetlands in Asia. From outside to inside of the wetland are marine areas, 4-km wide intertidal zone, rivers, sand flats, mud beaches, newly formed land, agricultural land, and fish cultivation ponds. The intertidal zone and mud beaches support abundant benthic organisms, creating important feeding resources for birds. Together with the area’s extensive flats, this was once an important stopover site for migrating birds. However, after the Taichung thermoelectric plant was built on the north shore, with construction of a levee and the use of water circulation, the coastal environments were seriously affected. This caused the Tatu Estuary to slant to the south by 18°, and the upstream mud and sand moving towards the south covered the nutritious sand flats, killing the benthic organisms. Thus migrating birds had no way of feeding here and moved on further south to roost.

IBA A1 criterion species: Saunder’s Gull (SG), Black-faced Spoonbill (BFS) Year 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 No. of SG 50 86 70 25 37 385 316 182 300 208 113 No. of BFS - - - - - - 6 5 2 4 1 • At this site, 235 species in 43 families have been recorded. • Rare and endangered species include: Chinese Egret, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Painted Snipe, Eastern Collared Pratincole, Little Tern, Osprey, and Oriental Ibis. Other protected species include Gray-faced Buzzard Eagle, Grey Frog Hawk, and Brown Shrike.

• Currently the Tatu River Estuary has a small number of illegal aquaculture ponds which will influence bird habitat. • The Western Coast Highway is slated to pass through the edge of the Tatu Rivermouth Wildlife Refuge. Impacts caused by highway construction and traffic after the highway is finished are expected to greatly degrade the refuge. • After development of the Changbin Industrial Park, sand removal for land reclamation covered numerous wetland areas, destroying the coastal and hydraulic characteristics. This has imposed a great threat on the existence of the Tatu Estuary wetlands. • The Changbin recreational area plan and the New Changbin recreational area alternate plan represent great development pressures, and include the construction of high dirt mounds, a water park, restaurants, roads, etc. • Trash and waste dumping is a problem. For example, in July 1996, when Typhoon Herb passed through, large piles of trash were deposited on both river banks. • Houses and industry upstream on the Tatu River release their wastes into the river, including heavy metals pollution, creating a serious problem. • Farmers hope that the area east of the Chungchang Bridge can be excluded from the scope of the reserve.

Legislation: • In 1988, the Taiwan Provincial government’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry invited the Council of Agricultural, Executive Yuan and related agencies to work on the Changbin recreational area development plan. The plan called for a waterbird nature park with an area of 270 ha. The blueprint of reserve development and detailed planning-related work were then processed. In 1995, the Changhua and Taichung County governments announced the Tatu River Estuary Waterbird Reserve. In 1998, a revised announcement was made and changed the Tatu Rivermouth Waterbird Reserve to “Tatu Rivermouth Wildlife Refuge.” Important conservation targets are protecting the rivermouth, coastline ecology, and habitats of birds and other wildlife. Educational interpretive displays and 23 announcement boards were set up. The Tatu Rivermouth Wildlife Refuge Management and Administration Council have existed for many years only on paper. It currently lacks suitable management or administration regime, so essentially the reserve exists in name only.

PA

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tatu Rivermouth Wildlife Refuge (Taiwan, China). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tatu-rivermouth-wildlife-refuge-iba-taiwan-china on 23/12/2024.