Messolonghi lagoons

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Messolonghi lagoons

  • Country: 
    Greece
  • Site number: 
    62
  • Area: 
    33,687 ha
  • Designation date: 
    21-08-1975
  • Coordinates: 
    38°20'N 21°15'E
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

Messolonghi lagoons. 21/08/75; Aitoloakarnania; 33,687 ha; 38°20'N 021°15'E. Added to the Montreux Record, 4 July 1990. Special Protection Area EC Directive; No Hunting Zone. An extensive complex of brackish coastal lagoons, mudflats, saltmarsh, freshwater marsh, reedbeds, dune systems and patches of riparian forest formed within the double delta of two rivers. The site is important for breeding, staging and wintering waterbirds and exhibits a considerable degree of endemism in plant and fish species. Wintering birds include large numbers of Anatidae (ducks, geese, swans, etc.), and the globally threatened Pelecanus crispus. Human activities include commercial salt extraction (80% of national production), fishing, fish farming, livestock grazing, agriculture, and illegal construction of resort housing. Various construction works led to soil deposition that changed the hydrology and geomorphology of the area. Intensive fishing techniques, cattle grazing, and illegal hunting cause problems. These issues led to the site's designation on the Montreux Record in 1990. Ramsar site no. 62. Most recent RIS information: 1998.

Administrative region: 
Aitoloakarnania

  • National legal designation: 
    • natural monument
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
  • Last publication date: 
    01-01-1998

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

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