Inconsistent responses over bird flu hurt nature reserve's finances
As many of your readers will know, the Mai Po Nature Reserve was closed for 21 days at the end of March because a dead bird infected by avian flu was found within a three-kilometre radius of the site.
WWF manages the reserve on behalf of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and in the past has co-operated to the fullest possible extent on this issue.
We have instituted an escalating scale of protective measures to ensure safety at all times during visits by the public to Mai Po.
However, we contend that the guidelines are outdated and, in our view, irrelevant to a recognised Ramsar site - an area designated as internationally important under the international Convention on Wetlands.
The facts are simple. First, there is no evidence of any humans contracting avian flu from a wild bird. The possibility is minimised because wild birds avoid humans. More than 30,000 faecal samples have been tested at the reserve since 2003 and not one has tested positive for the H5N1 virus.
Humans who are near domesticated poultry are more at risk than at the reserve. Yet when a chicken with H5N1 is found at a wet market, the market is not closed.
On March 2, 2008, a dead oriental magpie robin was found H5N1-positive in Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, right beside the centre and butterfly garden. That reserve is the second-most popular bird watching site in Hong Kong and it is full of hikers at weekends.
It was not shut down for 21 days, and WWF would like to know why.
WWF readily admits the 21-day closure resulted in financial loss - approximately HK$200,000. The government claims it lacks the resources to compensate WWF for the loss.
Our problem is compounded by inadequate funding from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to manage the reserve.
WWF must raise HK$3.5 million per annum from the public to meet the operational shortfall. However, our motivation is not financial, it is scientific.
Our fundamental concern is with the government making a decision that was not based on scientific fact. Rather, it was premised on its desire to be perceived as taking decisive action.
Also, the government has been inconsistent with regard to its responses.
We need the public's support to urge our government to review its guidelines on the closure of the reserve.
Eric Bohm, chief executive officer, WWF-Hong Kong
