On the 3rd of February 1971 18 countries met in the Iranian city of Ramsar to sign The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. This became known as the Ramsar Convention, and is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and their resources.
For more information on the history and regulations of the Ramsar Convention go to www.ramsar.org
Nowadays there are 165 countries signed up to the convention and a total of 2,112 Ramsar sites have been designated, of which one is located from the Western region of Alderney and out to Burhou.
In 2005 the region was designated the first Ramsar site in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Alderney and Burhou achieved this designation through its regionally, nationally and internationally important populations of seabirds. In particular the islets of Ortac and Les Etacs support 2.3% of the world population, and 3.4% of the British Isles population of Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus).
In order to maintain this designation the Alderney Wildlife Trust (on behalf of the General Sevices Committee (GSC) for the States of Alderney) put together a 5 year management strategy in 2006, which was then followed through from 2007-2011.
The work carried out by the Alderney Wildlife Trust primarily focuses on seabird monitoring work, as seabirds were one of the main reasons for Alderney’s Ramsar designation. Known as the Alderney West Coast and Burhou Islands Ramsar Site Management and Monitoring Strategy (or ARS1)
In 2012 ARS1 was reviewed and renewed for 2012-2016 and is now known as ARS2. Both are available for download below.
Since 2005 data has been collected on 10 seabird species for population size and productivity success rates. The recording of this data is continued, and expanded, each year by the Alderney Wildlife Trust in order to better understand the ecological processes of the Ramsar site and conserve its diversity within the convention guidelines. This data is available for download below.
Downloads
| Filename | File size |
|---|---|
| Five Year Project Review | 249.71 KB |
| Five Year Strategy Plan | 1.46 MB |
| Population and Productivity Table | 323.32 KB |