中都濕地公園 Jongdu Wetland Park(Photo by Jhang Jhong-yi)

In May 2012, Kaohsiung's Jhongdu Wetland Park was declared a winner of the prestigious FIABCI Prix d'Excellence Award in the Environmental (Rehabilitation/ Conservation) Category. It was Kaohsiung's third Prix d'Excellence Award –following The Heart of Love River project in 2009, and the She Zih Lin Basin Wetland Park Project –and a further nod from international society to Kaohsiung's progress in environmental recovery.

Jhongdu Wetland Park, which covers 11.6 hectares of land, used to be one of the biggest wood-storage pools during the heyday of Kaohsiung's timber industry. As that industry went into decline, the canals, warehouses and workshops in the area were abandoned. As awareness of the importance of sustainability has grown in recent years, Kaohsiung City Government has been putting more and more effort into environmentally friendly urban-planning for the "upkeep of a green eco-network and a blue waterfront." Over the course of two years, Jhongdu was transformed from a 40-year-old industrial wasteland into a fresh looking ecological park that nourishes native species, provides recreational space for residents, and serves an educational purpose.

木棧吊橋 The wooden suspension bridges(Photo by Pao Chung-hui)

Founded on the principle of "returning to nature, respecting nature," Jhongdu Wetland Park strives for a balance between ecological cycles and human activities. The park is surrounded by bike lanes and walkways, but the Eco Island in the center is reserved for wild birds and native species, as well as a restoration area for tropical coastal forest. The Eco Island is connected to the outside by three suspension bridges in order to minimize human impact. The bridges themselves are made with wood and other natural materials, a rarity in cities.

The waterway surrounding the Eco Island is lined with stones rather than cement blocks and wires, purposely mimicking the natural habitat of local species. The restoration effort has been a successful one: Mangroves now thrive in the restoration zone, including species thought to be extinct in this region, such as Lumnitzera racemosa and Avicenia marina. Kaohsiung Wild Bird Society has reported sightings of more than 30 different avian species on Eco Island, such as the Little Egret (Egretta garzett), the Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), and the White-vented Myna (Acridotheres javanicus). Visitors to the park enjoy the greenery, watching fish in the water, and –on a good day –water birds dancing in the sky. The park is a piece of heaven, right in the heart of Kaohsiung City.

與水共生中都濕地公園

【文／林旻伶；攝影／鮑忠暉、張忠義、高雄市政府工務局養護工程處】

中都濕地公園於今年5月勇奪世界不動產聯合會(FIABCI) 「2012 全球卓越建設獎」環境復育類首獎，這是高雄近四年來繼愛河之心、檨仔林埤濕地公園後，第三度抱回首獎，顯示高雄在環境復育的努力受國際肯定。

人與生態和諧共存的空間 People and native species coexisting (Courtesy of Public Works Bureau)

佔地11.6公頃的中都濕地公園，過去是高雄重要的儲木池所在地，隨著木材產業遷移，區域內原有的水道及廢棄木業廠房在長期缺乏管理的情形之下，呈現雜亂老舊的都市景象。有鑑於生態永續經營為當今世界潮流，高雄市政府以「打造綠色生態網絡、串聯藍色水岸」為理念著手整建，歷經2年的規劃整治，這片閒置近40年的廢棄工業用地終於在2011年4月搖身一變，成為兼具生態、休憩、教育功能的中都濕地公園，當地呈現煥然一新的面貌。

中都濕地公園以回歸、尊重自然為闢建原則，在空間的規劃配置上追求人與生態間的平衡。公園外圍設有自行車道與步道，位於中央的生態島則保留大量空間，作為鳥類與原生物種的棲息地及熱帶海岸林的復育區，島區僅以三座都市中難得一見的木吊橋與周邊連結，將人為環境干擾降至最低。

圍繞著生態島的環狀水道，水岸不以人為建築設施與水泥結構護坡，而是以圓形石頭堆砌出適宜生物棲息的環境，園區內紅樹林生態與鳥類的出現，是顯示中都濕地復育有成的兩大指標，目前高雄市野鳥學會已在園區內觀察到包括小白鷺、夜鷺、白尾八哥等30多種鳥類，而消失已久的欖李、海茄苳等紅樹林也在此重現。漫步公園內，放眼望去一片綠意盎然，水中魚群悠遊自在，倘使運氣好還可見親水鳥群翩翩飛舞，宛若桃花源般的優美情境，就在位於市中心的中都濕地公園真實上演。