 Since the 1960s, with the planting of mangroves, it has been transforming into tidelands.It has also become a relay point for migrating birds such as shorebirds and plovers, and in 1999 was designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.A number of threatened species inhabit Lake Man, such as the shellfish "Macoma nobilis", which is found only on Okinawa Island.