This is an area of North Devon that has been designated by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve or world heritage site. The area includes The Braunton Burrows, Northam Burrows and the Taw and Torridge Estuary and is made up of a core area, where conservation, research and education are carried out, a buffer area where land management and use is sympathetic to the core area and a transition area where communities are encouraged to carry out sustainable development in all aspects.
The Biosphere is considered internationally important because of the diversity and abundance of rare flora and continuous human use over the centuries. The dunes at Braunton Burrows, for example, make up one of the largest sand dune systems in the United Kingdom and contain about 500 species of flowering plants. It is one of only two UK sites for the water Germander, and has a wide range of rare orchids.
To the visitor the Biosphere means an opportunity to experience a really special environment and a chance to see plants and animals that may exist nowhere else in the UK. You can spot rare birds, walk in a protected environment or learn all about sustainability and the environment from the people who spend their lives taking care of the place. Or you can simply laze on some of North Devon's most beautiful beaches, safe in the knowledge that whilst the Biosphere exists, it will always be well looked after.
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