Ramsar Sites: UK Wetlands of International Importance

Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention. The dataset, provided by OpenDataNI, covers sites in the UK, its Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies, with the first UK sites designated in 1976. It is available in SHP format and is licensed under OGL-UK-3.0.

Use Cases

• Map wetland conservation areas based on the geospatial boundaries of designated sites.
• Analyze the distribution and size of protected wetlands relative to other countries, as the description notes the UK has many small sites.
• Study the historical progression of wetland protection based on the initial 1976 designations and subsequent additions.
• Assess site selection criteria for waterbirds, as the description mentions this was an initial emphasis.

Strengths

• Data is provided under the permissive OGL-UK-3.0 license.
• The dataset has a specific last updated timestamp of 2026-07-08 13:31:06.228658.
• The description provides historical context, noting the first UK designations were in 1976.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

OpenDataNI, coordinated through JNCC with advice from UK statutory nature conservation agencies and a national Ramsar Committee.

Collection Method

Sites are designated under the Ramsar Convention based on specific criteria.

Time Range

Designations began in 1976 and have continued since.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:31:06.228658; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.