Birds

The Severn Estuary is one of 1,616 Ramsar sites, and the UK is a signatory to the Ramsar convention, so any change that affects bird feeding grounds must take this fact into account.

However, it must also be recognised that global warming will produce sea level rise, which will eventually obliterate the wetlands currently used by the birds, as the Severn Estuary Valley is inundated and the water reaches the foot of the hills and mountains.

Therefore, a Barrage, if built with bird feeding ground protection in mind, can protect the Ramsar site.

Impact on the feeding grounds can be mitigated by taking action to diminish the slope of the exposed mud. The slope can be reduced by, for instance, building a small retaining wall at the seaward end of the mudflats, and managing the flow of streams that cut into the flats.

I have a diagram on my computer, and will upload it when I learn how.

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