Convention on Wetlands
Convention summary
The Convention on Wetlands (aka The Ramsar Convention) was adopted in Ramsar, Iran in February 1971 and came into force in December 1975. It provides the only international mechanism for protecting sites of global importance and is thus of key conservation significance.
The Convention covers all aspects of wetland conservation and ‘wise use’. It has three main 'pillars' of activity:
- the designation of wetlands of international importance as Ramsar Sites;
- the promotion of the wise use of all wetlands in the territory of each country; and
- international co-operation with other countries to further the wise use of wetlands and their resources.
Current details of Contracting Parties to the Convention, and the number and extent of Ramsar Sites designated globally, are available from the Convention on Wetlands website.
Implementation in the UK, Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories
The UK ratified the Convention on Wetlands and designated its first Ramsar Sites in 1976. The ratification also extends to the Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories, within which the first Ramsar Site was designated in 1990.
Ramsar Sites are wetlands of international importance that are selected according to the Ramsar Sites Criteria that relate to the presence of representative, rare or unique wetland types or their international importance for conserving biological diversity. While the initial emphasis was on selecting sites of importance to waterbirds, non-bird features have increasingly been taken into account, both in the selection of new sites and when reviewing existing sites.
The designation of UK Ramsar Sites has generally been underpinned through prior notification of these areas as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) (or Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSIs) in Northern Ireland). Accordingly, these receive statutory protection under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended) and the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 (as amended). Government and the devolved administrations have also issued guidance relating to the extent to which Ramsar Sites are afforded protection at a policy level.
JNCC provides scientific advice to the UK statutory nature conservation bodies (or the relevant administration in the case of the Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories) to support the proposal and designation of Ramsar Sites. JNCC also participates in delegations to national and international Ramsar meetings; assists Government with the harmonisation of Ramsar procedures worldwide; and co-ordinates the production of the UK National Report to the triennial Conferences of the Parties to Ramsar (see below).
Ramsar Site network summary
Designated Ramsar Sites as of January 2025.
The figures below have been updated to account for changes in the area of various Ramsar Sites due to them being extended, having the site boundaries delineated/calculated more accurately, or because of errors in the previous version of the table (available from The National Archives website).
| UK | No. of sites | Area (ha) | |
| England | 69 | 327,976 | |
| England / Scotland | 1 | 43,637 | |
| England / Wales | 3 | 40,553 | |
| Northern Ireland | 20 | 88,152 | |
| Scotland | 50 | 283,083 | |
| Wales | 7 | 11,366 | |
| Overseas Territories | Anguilla | 1 | 1,051 |
| Bermuda | 7 | 40 | |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | 1 | 35,424 | |
| British Virgin Islands | 1 | 1,071 | |
| Cayman Islands | 1 | 82 | |
| Falkland Islands | 2 | 4,655 | |
| Tristan da Cunha | 2 | 370,085 | |
| Turks and Caicos | 1 | 58,617 | |
| Western Sovereign Base Area of Cyprus | 1 | 2,171 | |
| Crown Dependencies | Bailiwick of Guernsey | 4 | 3,819 |
| Isle of Man | 1 | 193 | |
| Jersey | 4 | 18,688 | |
| Total | United Kingdom | 176 | 1,290,663 |
Latest changes to UK network of Ramsar Sites
| UK site code | Site name | Country/Territory | Change | Date |
| UK11068 | Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast | England | Site extended | 16/01/2020 |
| UK11058 | Crouch and Roach Estuaries | England | Site extended | 11/07/2018 |
| UK45006 | Sombrero Island Nature Reserve Marine Park | Anguilla | New site | 22/05/2018 |
| UK11023 | Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay | England | New site | 30/03/2016 |
| UK22003 | Herm, Jethou and The Humps | Jersey | New site | 19/10/2015 |
| UK11042 | Mersey Narrows and North Wirral Foreshore | England | New site | 05/07/2013 |
| UK11083 | Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits | England | New site | 07/04/2011 |
Ramsar Sites information
JNCC maintains information for all Ramsar Sites in the UK.
A list of UK Ramsar Sites is available, which includes the sites in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories.
A spreadsheet containing information on UK Ramsar Sites and a spatial layer of UK Ramsar Site boundaries are available from the UK Protected Area Datasets for Download webpage.
Convention on Wetlands reporting
As a party to the Convention on Wetlands, the UK is required to submit a report the Ramsar Secretariat on the UK experience of implementing the Convention. This takes place every three years ahead of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention.
The latest UK Ramsar National Report was submitted to the Ramsar Secretariat in October 2024. The previous report was submitted December 2021. Earlier versions of the UK National Reports are available via the Convention on Wetlands website (see Key documents).
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