Medway Estuary and Marshes (2536)
United Kingdom, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2007
National site name: Medway Estuary and Marshes
Central coordinates: Latitude: 51.3997, Longitude: 0.6643
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 15
Area of KBA (km2): 46.83987
Protected area coverage (%): 99.13
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Medway estuary forms a single tidal system with the Swale and joins the Thames estuary between the Isle of Grain and Sheerness. It has a complex arrangement of tidal channels, which drain around large islands of saltmarsh and grazing-marsh. The mudflats support extensive beds of algae and eel-grass Zostera. The IBA is important for wintering and passage wildfowl. Terns and gulls breed on saltmarsh islands, and wildfowl breed on the grazing-marshes.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Delineation rationale: First identified in 1989; no significant boundary changes since then. SPA boundary used from JNCC; digitised at 1:10,000 scale.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | fisheries/aquaculture | tourism/recreation | urban/industrial/transport
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 5 | |
| Grassland | 32 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 32 | |
| Marine Neritic | 32 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use | Small dams | Only in the future |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Nutrient loads | Ongoing |
| Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Only in the future | |
| Residential & commercial development | Commercial & industrial areas | Only in the future | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Shipping lanes | Only in the future | |
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Ongoing | |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Ongoing | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Ongoing |