About Ramsar - Friends of Nylsvley

Introducing Ramsar

Ramsar in South Africa
Ramsar Treaty (Full text)

Ramsar is an international treaty, signed by a number of countries and is named after the place in Iran, where the treaty was signed in 1971.
The Treaty is a UN convention on the importance of Wetlands, particularly as a waterfowl habitat. It is based on the recognition of the value of Wetlands, both as an essential part of the natural ecosystem - a regulator of water, and a vital habitat for a range of fauna and flora, particularly waterfowl. Given that that many waterfowl migrate seasonally across international boundaries and depend on wetlands in different countries, co-operation in this regard is essential.
The Ramsar treaty binds countries to put forward at least one wetland to the "list" of wetlands of international importance.
It further binds the country to protect the areas designated as "Ramsar Wetlands".
There are now (July '98) 112 contracting parties (countries) to the Ramsar Convention
There are 930 designated ramsar sites.
The total protected area within these 930 sites covers 69 million hectares.

RAMSAR IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa has 16 designated Ramsar sites. Nylsvley is the newest.

The full list of sites in South Africa follows:

Barberspan	North-West	3,118 ha
Blesbokspruit MR	Gauteng	1,858 ha
De Hoop Vlei	Western Cape	750 ha
De Mond (Heuningnes Estuary)	Western Cape	1,318 ha
Kosi Bay	Kwazulu/Natal	8,000 ha
Lake Sibaya	Kwazulu/Natal	7,750 ha
Langebaan	Western Cape	6,000 ha
Natal Drakensberg Park	Kwazulu/Natal	242,813 ha
Ndumo Game Reserve	Kwazulu/Natal	10,117 ha
Nylsvley Nature Reserve	Northern Province	3,970 ha
Orange River Mouth MR	Northern Cape	2,000 ha
St. Lucia System	Kwazulu/Natal	155,500 ha
Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve	Free State	4,754 ha
Turtle Beaches/Coral Reefs of Tongaland	Kwazulu/Natal	39,500 ha
Verlorenvlei	Western Cape	1,700 ha
Wilderness Lakes	Western Cape	850 ha

Useful Links: Ramsar related

Webpage created 26 July 1998 © FRIENDS OF NYLSVLEY & Nyl Floodplain - a project of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa. e-mail: nylfriend@geocities.com
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