GUERNSEY, in the Channel Islands, is celebrating the designation of its first Ramsar site, under the UN Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, otherwise known as the Ramsar Convention. The 426 hectare site encompasses Lihou Island, La Claire Mare Nature Reserve, and the Colin Best Nature Reserve, as well as the intertidal area and outlying reefs and rocks. The site contains a variety of habitats from internationally threatened shingle banks, to marshes, reed beds, saline lagoons, and the intertidal area. The site also has a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna, including a wide variety of seabirds, wildflowers, and marine organisms. Over 200 species of seaweed are recorded on the Lihou causeway alone.
UK Biodiversity Minister Jim Knight, in announcing the designation, congratulated the Guernsey Authorities. "The United Kingdom has a proud record of designating more Ramsar sites than any other country, and the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are home to particularly valuable and internationally-important wetland habitats," he said.
"Guernsey is a worthy member of this group and the Guernsey site will be the 165th Ramsar site in the British Isles."
Guernsey Environment Department Minister, Deputy Bernard Flouquet, said the announcement was great news for the island: "I am very pleased that an area of Guernsey's wetlands will now be recognised internationally."
Designation elevates the status of the site to that of 'International Importance', bringing special notice to the environmental, cultural and heritage aspects of the area. This recognition provides a positive focal point for new education, tourism and environmental initiatives which contribute to the long-term conservation and wise use of that particular site and other wetland areas. Many rare species and a representative sample of the north-western European fish fauna are found in the marine area of the site.
The UN Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 150 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1590 wetland sites, totalling 134 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Visit http://www.ramsar.org for more information. The UK has designated 165 Ramsar sites, including 19 within the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, covering 896,475.95 hectares. Guernsey's will be the 166th site in the British Isles.
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