Bid for North Kent and Essex coast to become Natural World Heritage site like Great Barrier Reef
A bid has been made for the North Kent and Essex coast to become a Natural World Heritage site joining places like the Great Barrier Reef.
It follows a new report highlighting the essential role the east coast wetlands play for migratory birds - and its coastal adaptation against climate change.
Figures show around one million birds are reliant on the east coast each winter, using the shores and inland marshes to shelter from the harsh conditions in Scandinavia, Canada, Greenland and Siberia.
In the spring the coast fills with around 200,000 migrating and breeding birds, and in the autumn, around 700,000 birds.
Marshes also offer valuable roosting sites and refuges for birds at high tide, as well as nesting grounds.
RSPB England says they also provide foraging and nursery grounds for fish and other benefits including carbon capture and storage, flood defence, recreation, tourism and fisheries.
Alan Johnson, Kent and Essex Area Manager for RSPB, said: “A wide range of species use the east coast as an essential home and as refuge during huge migration journeys.
"Here in Kent, we have globally significant wintering populations of knot, dunlin and black-tailed godwit.
"In spring, important populations of breeding waders, such as lapwing and redshank, benefit from concerted action by farmers and conservationists.”
Currently there are only two Natural World Heritage sites in the UK - Dorset and East Devon Coast and the Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast.
If the bid is accepted, the east coast could join the list which also includes the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos Islands and Mount Kilimanjaro.
Susan Carey, Cabinet Member for Environment, Kent County Council, said: “This is the first stage in the journey to win Natural World Heritage site status, but it has already caught people’s imagination and enthusiasm.
"It’s thrilling to think that the east coast is considered of such global significance for nature and that the work being undertaken to plan and manage for climate change here is globally leading.”
The application has been submitted to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and a decision on whether it will be added to the UK’s Tentative List is expected by early 2023.