The proposed Ramsar Site for Ascension would gather together a number of the local protected areas, which at the time of the review were in the process of being established. It is possible, thanks to the comparatively undisturbed condition of many areas across the island and its surrounding waters, to include in a single site, the range of Ramsar criteria which are met by Ascension. These include a wide variety of wetland types from inshore waters with endemic fish to oceanic island cloud forest.