Preserving the reserves

For participants in the Wetland Management Training courses at Hong Kong's Mai Po Nature Reserve, the homework does not end upon graduation.
 
Instead many of the participants apply for a grant to fund a small project on their home reserve.
 
With more than 150 wetland nature reserves in mainland China, one of the biggest challenges is to provide the necessary resources and expertise to implement sustainable practices. The World Wide Fund For Nature Hong Kong (WWF) runs an extensive training programme for those involved in the establishment, development and day-to-day management of these wetland reserves.
 
Annually, more than 200 representatives of the central government as well as various provincial governments in mainland China go through the WWF programme - which is funded by the Hongkong Bank Foundation.

Participants focus on practical approaches to managing wetland nature reserves as well as policy and legislation development.

Past graduates include representatives from the State Forestry Association, the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the State Environmental Agency.