A tidal flat in Nagoya visited by migratory birds is worth including in an international wetlands preservation treaty, a top treaty official said Saturday.

The Fujimae mudflat is an internationally important wetland and worth listing in the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, said Delmar Blasco, secretary general of the Swiss-based Ramsar Convention Bureau.

Visiting the 120-hectare site, Blasco, from Argentina, praised local citizens' efforts to protect the mudflat, which sits in an industrial zone.

He also said he hopes local residents will show that environmental protection and development are compatible when Aichi Prefecture hosts the 2005 World Exposition.

In January 1999, the Nagoya municipal government dropped a plan to build a waste disposal facility on the site due to strong opposition from citizens' groups.