Cigu Qingkunshen Salt Pan Wetland Conservation Partnership Program

Abstract

This program focuses on the approximately 333-hectare Qingkunshen Salt Pan Wetland in Cigu, Tainan, addressing development pressure, human disturbance, declining fishery resources, and climate-change risks. Guided by “global vision, local action,” it integrates four conservation pathways: building a long-term database for birds, fish, and crustaceans; deploying automated water-level, soundscape, and image monitoring; establishing routine habitat patrols with volunteers and local residents; and surveying and cultivating seagrass to prepare for blue-carbon ecosystem restoration. The program will also conduct fishery citizen-science monitoring, fisher interviews, and a feasibility assessment of Satoumi-based co-management to explore coexistence between wetland conservation and sustainable fisheries. Partnerships among government agencies, research institutes, universities, civil-society organizations, volunteers, and local communities will create a science-based, participatory governance model that can be expanded from Qingkunshen to the wider Cigu–Jiangjun salt-pan landscape and Taiwan’s southwestern coast.

Keywords: Qingkunshen Salt Pan Wetland; wetland conservation; biodiversity; citizen science; Satoumi

Methodology and Implementation Steps

The project will be planned and implemented through a phased process of survey, monitoring, participation, restoration, and co-management assessment:

1. Baseline surveys: Conduct standardized surveys of birds, fish, shrimp, and crabs, followed by data analysis and the establishment of a long-term biodiversity database.
2. Technology-assisted monitoring: Install automated water-level sensors, soundscape recorders, and camera systems to continuously collect hydrological, acoustic, and habitat-use data.
3. Patrol and management: Recruit and train volunteers and local residents to assist with habitat patrols. An online system will be used to document inappropriate activities and other disturbances and to report them to the competent authorities.
4. Preparatory work for blue-carbon restoration: Use boats or rafts, drones, and underwater vehicles to survey seagrass species, spatial distribution, and coverage.
5. Sustainable fisheries: Collaborate with anglers and fishers to conduct citizen-science monitoring of fishery resources, recording species, abundance, location, and timing. Case studies, interviews, field visits, stakeholder meetings, and workshops will also be conducted to assess the feasibility of introducing a Satoumi-based co-management mechanism.

Innovation and Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

The program combines conventional field surveys with automated water-level, soundscape, and image monitoring to create a digital management model for a large salt-pan wetland. It also introduces seagrass-based blue-carbon restoration, fishery citizen science, and Satoumi co-management into an abandoned salt-field setting. Cross-sector collaboration links the Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Ecoacoustics and Informatics Lab, Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, and the Prof. Pi-Jen Liu, Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, the Ciku and Jiangjun Salt Pan Wetlands Restoration Alliance, government agencies, volunteers, and local fishers, integrating scientific research, community participation, habitat governance, and sustainable livelihood transition.

Expected Results and Contributions

The project is expected to establish a comprehensive habitat-monitoring framework for the Qingkunshen Salt Pan Wetland, encompassing bird and aquatic-fauna surveys, automated habitat monitoring, and baseline seagrass assessments. It will also develop locally supported patrol and management practices and a citizen-science monitoring system. Through an assessment of Satoumi-based management approaches, the project