Protected areas of Scotland

Many parts of Scotland are protected in accordance with a number of national and international designations because of their environmental, historical or cultural value.

NatureScot has various roles in the delivery of many environmental designations in Scotland, i.e. those aimed at protecting flora and fauna, scenic qualities and geological features.

The majority of the land is in the ownership of private landowners (including conservation bodies such as the National Trust for Scotland), and people continue to live and work in the parks.

They cover sites that are considered worthy of protection due to their flora, fauna, geology or geomorphology.

[citation needed] Most SSSIs are in private ownership, and NatureScot works with the owners and managers to ensure the special features are preserved.

Each SSSI has a site management statement produced by NatureScot which describes these features and details the actions and restrictions required to conserve them.

[11] The SSSI designation was originally introduced across Great Britain by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (the similar Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) operates in Northern Ireland).

[14] A further thirteen protected areas are beyond the 12 mile limit and are therefore designated by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee rather than NatureScot.

[15] A scheduled monument is a "nationally important" archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.

As a rule of thumb, a protected historic asset that is occupied would be designated as a listed building.

They must be chosen from the Sites of Community Importance by the State Members and designated SAC by an act assuring the conservation measures of the natural habitat.

[24] A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.

Conservation areas are used to protect features such as groups of buildings, open spaces, street patterns, trees, and historic gardens.

[27] Regional parks are defined to co-ordinate the management of areas of attractive countryside that are of importance for recreation due to their proximity to population centres.

Currently Scotland has three regional parks:[28] In addition to statutory designations, many areas are protected by virtue of being owned by a conservation organisation.

Examples of bodies owning land and property for conservation purposes in Scotland include: Forest parks are areas of forest managed by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) that are managed for multiple benefits, with an emphasis on recreation facilities for visitors.