Vallées de la Scarpe et de l'Escaut
- Country:France
- Site number:2405
- Area:27,622 ha
- Designation date:02-02-2020
- Coordinates:50°25'N 03°25'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
Situated adjacent to the border with Belgium, Vallées de la Scarpe et de l’Escaut is a complex of connected ponds, marshes, canals, peat bogs, alluvial and swamp forests, rivers, streams and aquifers, which lies between the Scarpe and l’Escaut rivers. Some of the larger water bodies are of anthropogenic origin, as they were created by the collapse of old mining complexes. The natural and also the human-made areas provide habitats for nesting and migrant birds, and the wetland also hosts diverse fish and amphibians. Several species are listed as nationally or internationally threatened. Among these are the critically endangered European eel, the moor frog (Rana arvalis), of which half of the national population is found in the Site, and the vulnerable aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola). The wetland is also important for its water purification, storage and hazard reduction functions, which benefit over 300,000 people living around the site. Notable threats include drainage, agriculture, urbanization and overuse of the natural resources of the site.
Administrative region:
Région Hauts-de-France
- Global international designation:
- World Heritage site
- National legal designation:
- Réserve Biologique Domaniale - RBD Les Breux
- Réserve Biologique Domaniale - RBD Mont des Bruyères
- Réserve Biologique Domaniale - RBD Sablière du lièvre
- Réserve Biologique Domaniale - RBD de Bassy
- Réserve Biologique Domaniale - RBD de la Mare à Goriaux
- Réserve Biologique Intégrale - RBI de Cernay
- Réserve Naturelle Régionale - Tourbière de Vred
- Réserve Naturelle Régionale - Pré des Nonnettes
- ZNIEFF de type 1
- Regional (international) legal designations:
- EU Natura 2000
- Last publication date:01-02-2020
Downloads
Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)
Additional reports and documents
- Other published literature