Key Biodiversity Areas

Witte en Zwarte Brekken (1238)
Netherlands, Europe

Site overview


KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Witte en Zwarte Brekken
Central coordinates: Latitude: 53.0000, Longitude: 5.6833
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): -3 to -1
Area of KBA (km2): 4.32894
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes

Site details


Site description: A freshwater lake (former peat-workings) surrounded by marshland and wet meadows that partly flood in winter, and located to the south of the city of Sneek. The site belongs to the same water management unit as Lake Sneekermeer (058). Human activities include reed-harvesting (`Other' land-use, below).
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: This is an important roost for geese Anser from surrounding feeding areas. The mean total number of waterbirds in winter exceeds 20,000. Waterbird numbers quoted are rough estimates.
Delineation rationale: 9 March 2017: name and area edited. Now equal to the designated Special Protection Area (Birds Directive).

Habitats


Land use: agriculture (25%) | fisheries/aquaculture (30%) | hunting (10%) | nature conservation and research (57%) | tourism/recreation (35%) | water management (100%)
IUCN HabitatCoverage %Habitat detail
Wetlands(Inland)45
Artificial - Terrestrial55

Threats


Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Wildfowl hunting disturbs birds.