Being used to playing “Where’s Wally?” with our sunbirds and tailorbirds that hop in and out of the dense mangrove foliage at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR), and lugging my scope around to see those little brown specks on the mudflat a bit better, I was unprepared for the close encounters that awaited me at the London Wetland Centre. This was easy game. It’s a photographer’s paradise – chuck away those ‘monster’ telescopic lenses; the birds there are so close that you’ll be forced a few paces back to focus.

The London Wetland Centre is a 40ha piece of wetlands, half an hour’s travel from Central London. The centre was opened in 2000, created from several unused reservoirs and is now maintained by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT). Despite its small size and patchy beginnings, it has already established itself as an important breeding centre and as a sanctuary for numerous endangered bird species, in particular the Gadwall and Shoveler duck. The UK recognises it as a Site of Special Scientific Interest – WWT notes that the Centre attracts more than 150 bird, 20 dragonfly and damselfly, six bat, four amphibian, and over 300 butterfly and moth species each year. Considering that this is a place in London we’re talking about, this is impressive indeed.

But how? How does the Centre achieve this?


Like SBWR, the area was already of considerable wildlife interest to begin with. All the developers had to so was to further enhance the habitat, add in more doses of greenery, and put an innovative visitor centre planning design into operation. This is by no means a true nature reserve – it is a wildfowl centre. It is designed to bring people and wildlife together, for, what use would a wildlife reserve cum centre be if there are only the animals, and no people there to appreciate them, to learn and be educated about them? Visitor facilities need to attract and engage people – a welcoming focal point, attractively-presented information, comfort, and special group facilities on-site will enhance that appreciation and involvement. Such a concept is not alien to us; SBWR has actively been pursuing this path – its efforts to enhance its Visitor Centre facilities, public services, and boardwalk experience are evidence of this. Thanks to this and the excellent experiences it offers to visitors, the Centre receives widespread support from the community.

And the birds, well, they play their role. They respond well to the care shown to their habitats (ponds, pools, lakes and reed beds)… their refuge and shelters. WWT has no doubt been actively engaging teams of scientists in ensuring that the Centre remains attractive to wildfowl. For some sections of the Centre – those which house birds with a fussier appetite and a need for more nutritional diets – there are feeding sessions. The birds enjoy nutrient-rich diets, and this enhances their breeding and reproductive successes. The Centre is somewhat akin to an open zoo or a bird park, only that the birds are all wild, and none are in captivity. The come and stay on their own free will.

Some 50% of the world’s wetlands have been lost in the past century – through unsustainable development, increasing air travel, building projects, degradation of water quality, industrial development, and destructive tourism. It is not impossible to halt this trend. The environmental sector around the world has been evolving. It now addresses important social elements in addition to scientific and ecological concerns. The WWT’s mission is “saving wetlands for wildlife and people”, and this should also be the objective of any conservation-related organisation. We should always be aiming at sustainability and access, and initiating public awareness and education programmes. People should have the chance to engage meaningfully with wildlife, if they are to ultimately protect it.

WWT is bringing this notion to newer heights – it has recently established Wetland Link International (Asia), of which Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is a member wetland centre.

Wetland Link International aims to promote the communications, education and public awareness (CEPA) process between its global network of wetland education centres. Let us all hope to give the world’s wetlands a chance.

Useful links
The Wildfowl and Wildlife Trust www.wwt.org.uk
London Wetland Centre www.wwt.org.uk/visit/ wetlandcentre
Wetland Link International www.wli.org.uk