GUERNSEY RECEIVES FIRST RAMSER DESIGNATION.

(From Government News Network (Was Hermes-Government Press Releases))

] DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS ref :87/06 28 February 2006 GUERNSEY RECEIVES FIRST RAMSAR DESIGNATION

Guernsey is celebrating the designation of its first Ramsar site, under the UN Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, otherwise known as the Ramsar Convention. The 426 hectare site encompasses Lihou Island, La Claire Mare Nature Reserve, and the Colin Best Nature Reserve, as well as the intertidal area and outlying reefs and rocks.

The site contains a variety of habitats from internationally threatened shingle banks, to marshes, reed beds, saline lagoons, and the intertidal area. The site also has a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna, including a wide variety of seabirds, wildflowers, and marine organisms. Over 200 species of seaweed are recorded on the Lihou causeway alone.

UK Biodiversity Minister Jim Knight, in announcing the …