Kilsviken-Åråsviken

Kilsviken-Åråsviken

Country:
Sweden
Site number:
434
Area:
9,046.0 ha
Designation date:
12-06-1989
Coordinates:
59°02'44"N 14°02'41"E
  • Grazed wetlands of nature reserve Inre Kilsviken.

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.


Kilsviken-Åråsviken is situated in the north-east corner of Lake Vänern, the largest lake in Sweden. It consists of three large bays (Kilsviken, Kolstrandsviken and Åråsviken) with numerous islands, the river Gullspångsälven and the shoreline around the bays. The landscape is a mosaic of open water, reeds, and forested and grazed wetlands. More than 250 different bird species have been reported and about 60 species of waterbirds regularly visit the area, including the nationally threatened ruff Philomachus pugnax and the globally vulnerable common pochard Aythya ferina. The Site constitutes important spawning grounds for the salmon Salmo salar and a local subspecies of brown trout Salmo trutta. The Site is important for nutrient cycling as well as for the provision of drinking water. Human activities include cattle grazing, recreation, timber production and fishing. The main threats to its ecological character relate to expansion of existing infrastructure such as marinas and docks. The regulation of Lake Vänern over the last century has led to the reduction of the variation in water levels, leading trees and bushes to colonize the shallow bays and open shorelines.
Administrative region: County of Värmland and County of Västra Götaland

National legal designation:
  • Natura 2000 SCI and SPA (1) - Nötön-Åråsviken
  • Natura 2000 SCI and SPA (2) - Inre Kilsviken
  • Natura 2000 SCI and SPA (3) - Värmlands-Säby
  • Natura 2000 SCI and SPA (4) - Gullspångsälven
  • Natura 2000 SCI and SPA (5) - Åråsviken-Vallholmen
  • Natura 2000 SPA (1) - Dyrön
  • Natura 2000 SPA (2) - Åråsvikens norr skärgård
  • Nature reserve (1) - Nötön-Åråsviken
  • Nature reserve (2) - Inre Kilsviken
  • Nature reserve (3) - Dyrön
  • Nature reserve (4) - Värmlands-Säby
  • Nature reserve (5) - Vallholmen
  • Nature reserve (6) - Gullspångsälven
Regional (international) legal designations:
  • EU Natura 2000
Last publication date: 06-04-2017
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