Biodiversity Importance - Ramsar Wetlands Sites

Ramsar Wetland Sites are designated wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, recognized for their significance in supporting biodiversity, regulating water cycles, and providing ecosystem services.

Overview

Data Type	Polygons of Ramsar Sites
Source	Ramsar Wetland Convention
Spatial Resolution	Spatially explicit
Temporal Resolution	Yearly updates
Interpretation	Per default, a 5km radius around the site is screened for the occurrence of Ramsar sites.
Concern Level	Very Low = no BSAs area detected within 5km of the site Low = BSAs area detected within 5km of the site Moderate = BSAs area detected within 3.5km of the site High = BSAs area detected within 1.5km of the site Very High = BSAs area detected within 0.5km of the site
Framework Relevance	Ramsar sites are relevant under CSRD (ESRS E4) as well as under TNFD.

Detailed Specifications

Explanation

Ramsar Wetland Sites are designated wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The main goal of the 1971 Ramsar Convention is to conserve and sustainably use wetlands, recognizing their vital role in supporting biodiversity, regulating water cycles, and providing ecosystem services. Businesses should be aware of Ramsar Sites near operational sites as proximity to heritage site can imply regulations and restrictions.

Transformation & Interpretation

Per default, a 5km radius around the business site is screened for the occurrence of biodiversity-sensitive areas, including Ramsar Sites. Closer biodiversity-sensitive areas mean a higher concern level according to the following default logic:

Distance to biodiversity-sensitive area	Concern Level
> 5 km	Very Low
3.5 - 5 km	Low
1.5 - 3.5 km	Moderate
0.5 - 1.5 km	High
≤ 0.5 km	Very High

Additionally to the above proximity analysis and resulting concern level, the following contextual information is provided as part of the indicator:

The exact distance between the Ramsar Site and the business site coordinate
How much of the search area (1-5km
radius) is covered by Ramsar Site. The coverage is provided in absolute (ha) and relative terms (how much percent of the search area is covered by the Ramsar site)

Please note that the same biodiversity-sensitive area can have multiple official designations, which is why the same area name may appear under different BSA categories in Nala. For example, a Ramsar Site may also be part of a Natura 2000 area or a Natura 2000 area may be protected under both the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive. Because each designation has a different legal meaning, Nala shows all applicable designations separately which can result in the same area name beign featured multiple times in the list of nearby biodiversity-sensitive areas.

Source

The spatial data on Ramsar Sites is provided by Ramsar Sites Information Service

Date of publication

2024

Confidence & Accuracy

High. Ramsar Sites spatial data is provided and updated by the Ramsar Convention itself implying high accuracy of the data.

Relevance for CSRD

CSRD requires companies to identify operational sites located in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas that negatively affecting these areas.

Biodiversity-sensitive areas (BSA) are defined as:

Natura 2000 network of protected areas
UNESCO World Heritage sites
Key Biodiversity Areas (‘KBAs’)
other protected areas

Biodiversity-sensitive areas are relevant under:

ESRS Article	Disclosure or application requirement
ESRS E4 DR 16 (a) (i)	list of material sites in its own operations specifying activities negatively affecting biodiversity sensitive areas
ESRS E4 DR 16 (a) (iii)	specifying the biodiversity-sensitive areas impacted
ESRS E4 DR 19 (a)	sites located in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas and activities related to these sites negatively affect these areas
ESRS E4 DR 35 (a)	number and area (in hectares) of sites located in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas that negatively affect area
ESRS E4 AR 7 (d)	list of locations where the undertaking is interfacing with biodiversity-sensitive areas
ESRS E4 AR 8 (c) (i)	percentage of its suppliers’ facilities located in risk prone areas
ESRS E4 AR 8 (c) (ii)	percentage of procurement spend from suppliers with facilities located in risk prone areas

CSRD requires companies to consider and describe the data used in their analysis (ESRS E4 AR 27). For convenience, here a description of for the relevant criteria:

ESRS Data Criteria	Comment
(a) methodology, reason for selection, assumptions, limitations & uncertainties	Methodology: Ramsar Wetland Sites data is based on designated wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Reason for selection: The indicator has been selected to provide information on the proximity of sites to biodiversity-sensitive areas. Ramsar Wetland Sites fall under the category of “other protected areas” under ESRE E4. Limitations & uncertainties: Ramsar Sites spatial data is provided and updated by the Ramsar Convention itself implying high accuracy of the data. The data is to be complemented with other data sets on biodiversity-sensitive areas.
(b) scope of metric	The Ramsar data is applied at site level applying a 5km radius.
(c) biodiversity component of metric	The Ramsar data does not directly relate to a biodiversity component. However, with the objective of conserving wetlands , Ramsar sites indirectly relate to the component ecosystem extent and condition.
(d) covered geographies	The Ramsar data is global.
(e) integration of ecological thresholds	The Ramsar data does not relate to a specific planetary boundary.
(f) frequency of monitoring, baseline condition and period	Ramsar data is updated annually.
(g) data type (primary, secondary, modelled, expert judgement	Ramsar data can be considered primary data.

Relevance for TNFD

Proximity to Ramsar sites is a suitable indicator to estimate the criteria Biodiversity Importance within TNFD’s LOCATE step.

Relevance for SBTN

Proximity to Ramsar sites are not directly relevant as a State of Nature indicator for Step 1: Assess and Step 2: Interpret & Prioritize. Nevertheless, the proximity of Ramsar sites provides additional qualitative information on an areas biodiversity importance and integrity which can complement other biodiversity State of Nature indicators.

SBTN Data & Tool Criteria	Evaluation	Comment
Relevance	❌	Proximity to Ramsar sites is not directly relevant to SBTN methodology for State of Nature Assessments.
Representative	❌	Proximity to Ramsar sites is not directly applicable to SBTN’s quantification of the State of Nature Assessments.
Spatial and Temporal Resolution	✅	Spatial data on Ramsar sites exactly georeferences the extent of protected wetlands and is updated annually.
Stability and Preservation	✅	Ramsar sites data is likely to be maintained and preserved long-term as is is provided by the Ramsar Sites Information Service
Accessibility	✅	Ramsar sites data is readily accessible online.
Interpretability	✅	Ramsar sites data is sufficiently interpretable.
Coverage	✅	Ramsar sites data has global coverage.
Authoritative and Accurate	✅	Ramsar sites spatial data is provided and updated by the Ramsar Convention itself implying high accuracy of the data.