United Kingdom - East Atlantic Flyway: England East Coast Wetlands

The English East Coast is globally important for migratory waterbirds and for its nearly contiguous complex of ecologically connected, coherent and immensely variable coastal wetlands. It includes many exceptional, extensive and biodiverse habitats located across a range of dramatic and dynamic estuaries as well as open coast ecosystems. These extensive coastal wetlands support over 155 different bird species most of which migrate internationally along the East Atlantic Flyway (EAF) which extends from the Arctic to South Africa. The extent and boundary of the proposed Natural World Heritage Site is largely defined by a series of existing protected nature conservation areas, designated for their international importance, including 21 Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for avian interest, 21 Ramsar Convention Wetlands of International Importance and 19 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for habitats and nonavian species, plus six nationally designated Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). These sites are also underpinned by other national designations such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The area within the proposed boundary contains almost 170,000 hectares (ha) of coastline including large expanses of coastal grazing marsh and c85,000 ha of intertidal including c17,500 ha of saltmarsh habitat, some reedbeds and c67,500 ha of mudflats and sandflats.