- Lake Man
nihongo|Lake Man|漫湖|Manko, is an area of
wetlands inJapan that is located between the cities ofNaha, Okinawa andTomigusuku , and within Manko Park. Despite being called "Lake Man", it is in fact a wetland and not a lake.Lake Man is close to Naha Port, located at the confluence of the lower reaches of the
Kokuba River and theNoha River , to the south ofNaha . Travelers from outsideOkinawa Prefecture , en route fromNaha Airport to the cityNaha , cross this estuary, with the left side commanding a view of Lake Man.Nature
Lake Man is an area of
brackish water at almost the same elevation assea level . Since the 1960s, with the planting ofmangrove s, it has been transforming into tidelands. It has also become a relay point formigrating birds such asshorebird s andplover s, and in 1999 was designated a wetland of international importance under theRamsar Convention .A number of threatened species inhabit Lake Man, such as the shellfish "Macoma nobilis" which is not found elsewhere in Japan.Deposition of sediments and the worsening of water quality due to the influx of wastewater are among the problems facing these wetlands.
External links
* [http://www.sizenken.biodic.go.jp/pc/wet_en/460/460.html wildlife of Lake Man] in English
* [http://www.geocities.jp/manko_mizudori/ Manko Waterbird and Wetland Center] in Japanese
* [http://db.okinawatimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/search.pl?data=NEWS/2004/12/15/20041215e003-01-05.text&query=%82%C8%82%C1%82%BF%82%E1%82%F1&dbname=/data2/INDEX/NEWS&format=long&year=all&month=all&nextskip=&nexttop=&subid=1 possible name change for Lake Man?] in Japanese
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