Ramsar Sites: UK Wetlands of International Importance

Ramsar sites are wetlands designated under the international Ramsar Convention. The dataset, provided by the UK Government Digital Service, includes sites designated since the UK's first in 1976, with an initial emphasis on areas important for waterbirds. The data is available in geospatial formats like GeoJSON and ESRI Shapefile.

Use Cases

• Map and analyze the distribution of protected wetlands based on the geospatial file formats.
• Study conservation policy implementation based on the site designation criteria and advisory process described.
• Assess the size and number of UK Ramsar sites relative to other countries as mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data is provided by the UK Government Digital Service, suggesting an official source.
• Includes sites designated since 1976, providing a multi-decade temporal scope.
• Available in standard geospatial formats (GeoJSON, ESRI Shapefile) for interoperability.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Sites are designated under the Ramsar Convention, with proposals advised by UK statutory nature conservation agencies and coordinated by JNCC.

Time Range

Since 1976

Freshness

Last updated date is unknown.

Geography

United Kingdom, including Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies