Data Zone
Country/territory: Netherlands
IBA Criteria met: A1, A4iii, B1i, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, C4, C6 (2016)
For more information about IBA criteria please click here
Area: 6,080 ha
Protection status:
| Most recent IBA monitoring assessment | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment | Threat score (pressure) | Condition score (state) | Action score (response) |
| 2017 | very high | very unfavourable | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring please click here | |||
Site description
A former tidal estuary of the Rhine/Maas river sytem, closed off from the Oosterschelde (028) in 1987. It also adjoins Grevelingen (027) in the west, Haringvliet/Hollands Diep (024/025) in the north, and is linked with the Zoommeer (029) via the Schelde-Rhine river connection (shipping lane to Antwerp). The 20-km long stagnant freshwater lake includes some islets. Hunting is allowed but with restrictions as to quarry species.
Key biodiversity
An important site for breeding Recurvirostra avosetta, Charadrius alexandrinus (max. 184 pairs, 1989) and Sterna albifrons, but numbers are decreasing due to vegetation succession. The best breeding site for Larus melanocephalus in the Netherlands (e.g. 143 pairs in 1993). The mean total number of waterbirds in January exceeds 20,000.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Krammer-Volkerak. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 28/11/2020.
