Heden
- Country:Denmark (Greenland)
- Site number:389
- Area:261,852 ha
- Designation date:27-01-1988
- Coordinates:71°00'N 23°55'W
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
Heden is an extensive tundra area that slopes down to the Greenland Sea. The Site is crossed by several rivers, some of which feature deep canyons. Numerous shallow lakes and ponds can be found within the Site, which also contains wet heathland and meadows. It hosts significant numbers of moulting barnacle geese, as well as moulting and breeding pink-footed geese. The snowy owl, a globally vulnerable species, can also be found breeding in the Site, among other species. Subsistence hunting, mainly of muskoxen, is practiced. The area was the subject of intensive oil exploration in the 1980s and 1990s, but remained unexploited until more recently. As of 2011, plans were being developed for further oil exploitation, and as of 2017, further surveys and exploration were ongoing.
Administrative region:
Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq
- National legal designation:
- Areas important to wildlife (Anon. 2000)
- Ramsar site - Heden
- Last publication date:15-05-2019
Downloads
Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)
Archived RIS
Site map
Additional reports and documents
- A description of the site in a national or regional wetland inventory
- Other published literature