The Wash and North Norfolk Coast is considered to be the most significant, both for its bird population and for the striking natural beauty of both the landscape and the bird life. It is probably the UK's most significant contribution to global biodiversity in its role as a crossroads, refuelling and stopping off point on the major migratory routes of wildfowl and waders which use the coastal wetlands and estuaries habitats for feeding, roosting and breeding in both summer and winter.
It is a designated Ramsar site under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention). It is also a Special Protection Area under the Council Directive on Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC), and is a candidate Special Area of Conservation under the Council Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and Wild Fauna and Flora (92/43/EEC). Parts of the North Norfolk coast are also a Biosphere Reserve designated under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB).