Duinen en Lage Land Texel

Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

Texel is the largest island in the Wadden Sea; it is characterized by wet and dry dune slacks, woodland, heathland, salt marshes and polders. The Site was formerly part of Ramsar Site 1252 (Waddeneilanden, Noordzeekustzone, Breebaart) which was divided in six Sites following Natura 2000 borders in 2014. The Site is of international importance for breeding and non-breeding waterbirds such as bittern and little tern that forage at low tide in the sandbanks and use the higher beaches and dunes for resting. The Site supports diverse and threatened species of flora such as fen orchid, fewflower spikerush and flea sedge, mosses, endemic mammals such as root vole and butterflies. All are important for maintaining the biological diversity of the Atlantic biogeographic region. The dunes act as a natural coastal defence against the erosive forces of the North Sea and provide freshwater supply. Human uses include tourism, farming, military training, conservation and research. The main threat to the site is bird disturbance caused by the military, tourist and recreation activities.
Transboundary designation: 
The "Wadden Sea" Transboundary Ramsar Site was declared in 2015 and it includes 13 Ramsar Sites in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands: Site No. 356 in Denmark; Sites No. 501, 537, 80, 81, 82 in Germany; Sites No. 1252, 289, 2212, 2213, 2214, 2215, 2216 in the Netherlands.

Administrative region: 
Province of Noord-Holland

  • National legal designation: 
    • National Ecological Network (NEN) - Duinen en Lage Land Texel
    • National Park - Duinen van Texel
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
  • Last publication date: 
    15-07-2022

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Additional reports and documents