Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information An important roost for tens of thousands of geese Anser from Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, but numbers of Anser albifrons in particular have been poorly covered by counts.

Site description A tidal estuary of the River Schelde with mudflats, sandbanks and raised saltmarsh (Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe, 3,500 ha), and the only estuary in south-west Netherlands which will be allowed to remain open to the sea. The estuary is 60 km long from the Belgian border up to the North Sea, and is adjacent to the Voordelta (020) in the west.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Braakman	Nature Reserve	189	protected area contained by site	189
Inlaag 1887	Nature Reserve	18	protected area contained by site	18
Kapelle Bank	Nature Conservation Law	14	protected area contained by site	14
Rammekens	Nature Reserve	69	protected area contained by site	69
Saeftinghe	Nature Reserve	544	protected area contained by site	544
Schor bij Bath	Nature Reserve	248	protected area contained by site	248
Schor Bij Ossendrecht	Nature Conservation Law	34	protected area overlaps with site	34
Schor van Waarde	Natural Monument	99	protected area contained by site	99
Schor Van Waarde	Nature Conservation Law	21	protected area contained by site	76
Verdronken Land van Saeftinge	Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)	3,500	protected area contained by site	3,500
Verdronken Land van Saeftinge I	Natural Monument	2,400	protected area contained by site	2,400
Verdronken Land van Saeftinge II	Natural Monument	1,100	protected area contained by site	1,100
Westerschelde & Saeftinghe - NL9802026	Birds Directive	19,298	protected area overlaps with site	27,966
Westerschelde - NL9803061	Habitats Directive	42,840	protected area overlaps with site	48,895
Westerschelde en Verdronken Land van Saeftinge	Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)	19,500	protected area contained by site	16,000
Zuidgors	Nature Reserve	163	protected area contained by site	163
Zwarte Polder	Natural Monument	28	protected area contained by site	28
Zwarte Polder II	Natural Monument	92	protected area contained by site	92

Habitats

Land use

Management considerations The main problems are the further deepening of the shipping lane (erosion causes loss of mudflats and saltmarsh), nutrient pollution through discharge of polder water, and industrial discharges. The SPA and Ramsar designations concern the saltmarsh area.

Protection status National Low International Low2,400 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Verdronken Land van Saeftinge I, 2,400 ha). 1,100 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Verdronken Land van Saeftinge II, 1,100 ha). 28 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Zwarte Polder, 28 ha). 92 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Zwarte Polder II, 92 ha). 99 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Schor van Waarde, 99 ha). 1 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Schor van Waarde, 1 ha). 189 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Braakman, 189 ha). 18 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Inlaag 1887, 18 ha). 14 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Kapelle Bank, 14 ha). 69 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Rammekens, 69 ha). 544 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Saeftinghe, 544 ha). 248 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Schor bij Bath, 248 ha). 34 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Schor bij Ossendrecht, 53 ha). 163 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Zuidgors, 163 ha). 76 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Schor van Waarde, 76 ha). 3,500 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Verdronken Land van Saeftinge, 3,500 ha). 3,500 ha of IBA covered by Ramsar Site (Verdronken Land van Saeftinge, 3,500 ha).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Westerschelde and Saeftinghe. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2013

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