Consultation opens on UNESCO World Heritage plan for flow country
If successful, the area could be ranked alongside many other significant natural sites across the globe
The blanket bog peatlands of The Flow Country will be "nominated" to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site early next year.
The consultation on the proposed boundary has been ongoing for the last three months, and this week now sees the site’s draft Management Plan being made available to the public. It is hoped it will explain to UNESCO how the World Heritage Site will be looked after, should the area achieve the accolade.
If successful, The Flow Country would be seen globally as important as the Great Barrier Reef, the Serengeti, the Okavango Delta and over 160 other World Heritage Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List for their outstanding internationally important natural values.
The work in this Plan builds on a ‘Nomination Dossier’, an extensive complementary piece of work which sets out in detail why The Flow Country should be a World Heritage Site, and which will be submitted to UNESCO by that January deadline.
"The Plan has been written with the intention of safeguarding this outstanding natural heritage for future generations"
In the foreword to the document, the partnership Chair, Frances Gunn from Tongue, says: “This draft Management Plan provides detail about how we intend to look after the World Heritage Site, and what arrangements need to be in place in order to achieve that.
"By ‘we’, I mean you and me, the people who own, live and work in the area, and those organisations who work with us to make it special. The Plan has been written with the intention of safeguarding this outstanding natural heritage for future generations."
She added: "There are some complex and challenging issues in there, and we want to know what you think about what is proposed, not just about the difficult issues, but also about the really positive benefits that might come from becoming a World Heritage Site.”
“As the Chair of the World Heritage Site stakeholder partnership, I can genuinely say that this draft Plan, and the decisions made in it, have been made collaboratively, with the best interests of the blanket bog and the wider Flow Country and its communities in mind, and I encourage you to have a read and have your say."
Dr Steven Andrews, Flow Country World Heritage Project Coordinator said: “This is your opportunity to have your say, so thank you for taking the time to tell us what you think. World Heritage Sites are important for the whole world, and as future local custodians, your input about your Site is needed.”
You can access the consultation here and it remains open until 12th September.