Protected Areas
A unique wetland
The Broads is one of Europe's finest and most important wetlands for nature conservation. This high conservation value is recognised at national, European and international levels, through numerous conservation designations.
Under national legislation, twenty eight sites within the Broads have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), and many of these sites are also National and Local Nature Reserves (NNR and LNR). Virtually all of the SSSI network is also designated as internationally important for nature conservation under the European Habitats and Birds directives, and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
The following links to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Natural England websites provide more information regarding these nature conservation designations.
Past to Present
Historically, swamps, slow flowing rivers, tidal creeks and estuaries would have covered a vast area, much larger than the today's wetland. Fluctuating fresh and saltwater conditions, coupled with sea level rise and fall, led to the creation of peat and the laying down of estuarine clay, providing the foundations for some of the vegetation we see today.
Peat was first excavated for fuel between the 11th and 13th centuries when water levels were low. Significant quantities of peat were removed, creating large pits that were subsequently flooded as water levels rose. These newly formed lakes were interconnected by existing rivers and became the Broads that we know today.
Adjacent to the rivers and broads, the peatlands were host to tall, swampy vegetation, consisting of reed, rushes and sedges. These were harvested by local people for thatching, animal bedding and feed, and creating and maintaining our modern day fens.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, technological improvements allowed riverside marshes to be drained and embanked from the rivers. Windmills provided the drainage power and the grazing marshes were formed.
The 20th century brought many changes to the Broads. Post-war economic and social change, coupled with agricultural advances led to an abandonment of much of the fens, and deterioration in water and general environmental quality. Realisation of this decline led to a new form of wetland management with a clear focus upon conservation and restoration.
The Broads we see today is a result of centuries of natural processes and interactions between people and their environment. These processes and interactions have created a mosaic of water, fens, marshes, dykes and woodland - a very special wetland.
