The Ramsar Secretariat has announced that the Government of the UK has designated the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits, in Northamptonshire in England, as its 169th Wetland of International Importance.
The site is important for flood control, and actvities carried out on the site include recreation, research and environmental education.
15 March 2012: The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) has announced that the Government of the UK has designated the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits, in Northamptonshire in England, as its 169th Wetland of International Importance.
According to the Ramsar Secretariat, the site supports a range of habitats and provides resting and feeding conditions for over 20,000 wintering waterbirds. The site is important for flood control, and activities carried out on the site include recreation, research and environmental education. Potential threats to the site include urban development, vegetation succession and invasive plants.
The UK’s designation contributes to one of the goals contained in the Ramsar Convention’s Strategic Plan for 2009-2015, which is to reach a protected area of 250 million hectares by 2015. [Ramsar Press Release]