Ontario's Natural Heritage Areas - Ministry of Natural Resources

Table 4-1. Ramsar Convention Sites in Ontario.
Ramsar Convention Site Area (ha)
Polar Bear Provincial Park 2,408,700
Southern James Bay 25,290
Minesing Swamp 6,000
Matchedash Bay 1,840
Provincial Wildlife Area 1
Long Point National Wildlife Area 13,730
and other properties
Point Pelee National Park 1,564
Mer Bleue Conservation Area 3,447
St. Clair National Wildlife Area 2 244
Selection Criteria
Total 2,460,815
1
The size of the Matchedash Bay Provincial Wildlife Area (1,046
ha; see Table 6-15 on page 233) and the Ramsar Site (1,840 ha) are
different because they are managed for similar as well as different
objectives.
2 The area of the St. Clair National Wildlife Area Ramsar Site is
officially listed as 244 ha. However, since the Ramsar Site was
designated, Environment Canada has acquired and added 41 ha of
new habitat known as the Bear Creek Unit (N. Patterson, personal
communication).
Source: Ramsar Convention Secretariat (2007).
Criteria for the designation of wetlands of
international importance are classified into two
groups:
• Sites containing representative, rare, or unique
wetland types.
• Sites of international importance for conserving
biodiversity (Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 2005).
It is important to note that wetlands may be
considered internationally important in the first
group if they contain a representative, rare, or unique
example of a natural or near-natural wetland type
found within the appropriate biogeographic region.
Sites recognized for conserving biodiversity are
further subdivided into four categories, each with its
own criteria:
1. Species and Ecological Communities – A wetland
may be considered internationally important if it
supports:
• Vulnerable, endangered, or critically
endangered species or threatened
ecological communities.
Ontario’s Natural Heritage Areas 98
• Populations of plant and/or animal species
important for maintaining the biological
diversity of a particular biogeographic
region.
• Plant and/or animal species at a critical
stage in their life cycle, or provides refuge
during adverse conditions
2. Waterbirds – A wetland may be considered
internationally important if it regularly supports:
• 20,000 or more waterbirds.
• 1% of the individuals in a population of one
species or subspecies of waterbird.
3. Fish – A wetland may be considered
internationally important if it:
• Supports significant proportions of
indigenous fish subspecies, species,
or families, life-history stages, species
interactions and/or populations that are
representative of wetland benefits and/or
values and thereby contributes to global
biological diversity.
• Is an important source of food for fish,
spawning grounds, nursery, and/or migration
path on which fish stocks, either within the
wetland or elsewhere, depend.
4. Other Taxa – A wetland may be considered
internationally important if it regularly:
• Supports 1% of the individuals in a
population of one species or subspecies
of wetland-dependent non-avian animal
species (Ramsar Convention Secretariat,
2005).
Management Objectives and/or Guidelines
Under the auspices of the ‘wise use’ principles,
Contracting Parties work to:
• Establish and implement national wetland
conservation policies.
• Undertake review and revision of legislation and
governmental infrastructure to promote wetland
conservation.
• Undertake inventories and management planning
for wetlands.
• Promote wetland research.