Ramsar Sites, Made Simple: A Practical Summary for Coastal and Wetland Communities

12 January 2026

This new Ramsar Summary document is the first in a series of tools we are creating to help community groups understand and use the protections that come with living next to a designated site. Instead of needing to trawl through legal text and policy papers, people now have a single, visual overview of what Ramsar designation means for wetlands.

At its heart, the summary explains the four pillars of Ramsar status: the international law behind the Convention, the idea of “ecological character”, the role of management planning and buffer zones, and how Ramsar sites are treated in national law in Scotland. It sets out what counts as a wetland (including marine waters down to six metres at low tide), how Ramsar sites fit within the marine protected area network, and why they matter for climate resilience, biodiversity, flood protection and water quality. There is also a Scotland-wide snapshot, showing that there are 51 Ramsar sites, 16 of which contribute to the Marine Protected Area network, with a table of coastal sites, their key habitats and species.

We have been really encouraged by early feedback from those using the document. Leonie Alexander from Edinburgh Shoreline has called it an “invaluable compilation of key information” that brings together facts she had not seen in one place before – including the Firth of Forth’s status as a Key Biodiversity Area – and she plans to use it in briefings to the City of Edinburgh as they develop the Granton coastal park and flood prevention measures. The summary has already proved useful to local campaigners responding to proposals to “transform” the Granton waterfront, some of whom did not realise the area was part of a Ramsar site until they saw the tool and could point to the specific legal and ecological details.

National collaborators have also welcomed this practical focus. WWT has set a 2050 goal that all UK Ramsar wetland sites will be protected and in good condition for wetland species. WWT has said it is delighted to see the work of the Protected Areas Foundation taking shape and looks forward to supporting it. Bringing this kind of user-friendly explanation into local conversations is one small but important way to turn that long-term ambition into action.

For us, this project has underlined how much difference it can make when communities have clear, accessible information about the designations around them, and it stimulates more discussion on which tools to develop next for community-managed marine protected areas.

This Ramsar Summary is only a first step, but it has confirmed our sense that practical, accessible tools can give communities real confidence and leverage in conversations about how their coasts are managed. The Ramsar Summary is designed to be dynamic – we will keep updating it as policy and practice evolve. Over the coming months we will be developing more resources like this, focusing on different designations, management tools and storytelling aids for community MPAs. If you are working on a coastal or marine protected area and there is a particular topic you would like to see covered, we would love to hear from you.

Image Credits: Edinburgh Shoreline