Border Refuge

Wetland birds captured on the Chinese side of Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong. This is a buffer zone between Hong Kong and mainland China called the Frontier Closed Area or FCA border. Established originally in 1951 to prevent migrants, refugees and other illegal activities coming across the border from China, the closed area is fenced along its perimeter to serve as a buffer between the border and the rest of the territory. Consequently development and construction is tightly controlled here causing most of the area to become a natural habitat for animals and plants. Given the context of the original intended purpose of the FCA border trying to keep migrants and refugees out, it is now acting as a border refuge for wildlife with Mai Po also being managed in a joint conservation and research initiative between the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong Government (AFCD) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Access is restricted to permit holders who are then allowed through a special gate from inside the Hong Kong side of Mai Po. Further access is via a long, narrow, floating wooden boardwalk supported by barrels. It meanders in between a mangrove ecosystem eventually branching out and leading to three floating bird hides that spread out into different parts of Deep Bay separating Hong Kong from the city of Shenzen looming in the background. Although captured in 2019, I formed the idea for this photograph in 2016 on a field trip visit with the Royal Geographical Society - Hong Kong. When I first laid eyes on the scene I was taken aback and sensed there was a compelling story to be told but it is also frequently smoggy and the skyscrapers are typically not visible even across this relatively narrow bay. I was so intrigued by the Mai Po story that after my first visit I approached WWF who manage the Reserve and discussed contributing to the documentation of the ongoing conservation and scientific research work that takes place there. With their approval and support I was able to acquire the necessary permits from the AFCD and the Hong Kong Police to be able to access both Mai Po and the FCA border respectively. Over the intervening years I would study the tide tables and look for an optimal tide depth that occurs infrequently (otherwise the birds don't come close enough even at high tide). This also had to align with more suitable days when the tide was coming in during daylight hours. Police patrol the Reserve and lock the access gate at 6pm so it is imperative to return before then to avoid creating a security issue. I wanted to convey the story and mood of Mai Po in a single balanced photograph, combining portraits and behaviour of multiple species within the context of their wider environment. Mai Po has additional importance. Aside from being one of the last places where traditional and sustainable gei wai shrimp farming takes place (gei wai literally meaning ponds enclosed by bunds) that also provides food for the birds, mammals and reptiles, I learned from talking to scientists working at the reserve that their studies have shown the adjacent mangrove eco system in-between the FCA border fence and Deep Bay (which is used as part of the gei wai process via sluice gates to channel young shrimp in from the bay) to be a carbon sink. Mai Po as a whole is a good example of how coastal wetlands can be managed sustainably, i.e. so that they can be of benefit to local communities, with minimal impact to the natural environment. Conservation of wetland habitats is an ongoing issue not only in Hong Kong but other major cities where there is so much pressure from human development and associated pollution.