This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Protecting wildlife and habitats
27/03/2002
The Executive has nearly completed its submission to the
European Commission of
Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) aimed
at preserving and enhancing the biodiversity of member
countries.
The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural
Development Allan Wilson also announced that five new
priority bogland habitats would be considered as potential
SACs. A decision on whether to designate four remaining
sites as SACs, including two salmon rivers, and on the
proposed extension to the existing Loch Sunart SAC, will be
made in the near future.
Scottish Natural Heritage have also been asked by the
Minister to begin formal consultation on two proposed
golden eagle sites on Skye and Mull. Consultations are in
already in progress or complete on three proposed hen
harrier sites and an extension to the Forth Islands SPA,
which holds one of Europe's largest common tern
populations. Decisions will be made on these sites once all
necessary information is available.
The Minister will delay a decision on the Sound of Barra
- the remaining site on the published list of SACs, and
Ladder Hills - the remaining site on the public list of
proposed SPAs, until further data is available.
Alan Wilson said:
"The Executive is committed to working with people to
achieve effective protection for our most important areas
of natural heritage. The identification of areas as Special
Areas of Conservation or Special Protection Areas under the
EC Habitats and Birds Directives is a guarantee that these
places will remain special.
"This major contribution to the Natura network
represents a notable effort on the part of Scottish Natural
Heritage to present the scientific data and to ensure that
as full consultation as possible has taken place with local
interests.
"SNH will now be involved in management of sites and I
expect their 'Natural Care' programme to be of particular
benefit to owners and occupiers. The Executive increased
Scottish Natural Heritage's budget in the last Spending
Review - by £22 million in total over the three years -
partly to enable the effective management of sites through
the Natural Care programme."
The EC Habitats Directive requires Member States to
select areas as Special Areas of Conservation and propose
them to the European Commission. These areas are intended
to protect Europe's most important places for
biodiversity.
The EC Birds Directive requires Member States to
identify and classify the most suitable territories in size
and number for rare or vulnerable species listed in Annex I
of the Directive and for regularly occurring migratory
species. These sites are known as Special Protection Areas
(SPAs).
The 4 remaining candidate SACs are:
- River Dee
- Firth of Tay and Eden Estuary
- River Tay
- Airds Moss
It is also proposed to extend the Loch Sunart Woodlands
cSAC, which was formerly proposed for Otter and old sessile
oak woods with
llex and
Blechum. The Sunart extension would
incorporate screes and ravines, reefs and other important
features and habitats.
The 5 new sites (4 raised bog sites and one blanket bog
site) that the Minister has agreed should be considered for
designation are:
- Red Moss of Netherly
- Peeswit Moss
- Raeburn Flow
- West Fannyside Moss blanket bog
- Ofference Moss, which is an extension to Flanders
Moss
Raised and blanket bogs are priority European habitats
for which Scotland has particular responsibility. In
addition to their natural heritage value, they are also
valuable for the archaeological remains which they often
contain, the evidence of changes in vegetation and climate
which they record and the large amounts of carbon which
they lock up in peat deposits.
The Executive has carried out consultation on a total of
227 proposed SAC sites around Scotland. 222 have already
been designated as Special Areas of Conservation. In
addition, 135 out of 141 sites considered as Special
Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds have now been
designated.
The remaining SPA sites from the previously published
list which the Minister expects to take decisions this year
are:
- Arran Moors
- Cnuic Agus Cladach Mhuile (the Mull eagle
site)
- Cuillins (the Skye eagle site)
- Glen App - Galloway Moors
- Muirkirk and North Lowther Uplands
- Forth Islands (extension)
The sites identified by Ministers have been the subject
of local consultation. Ministers have considered all
relevant representations before making a decision.
Candidate and proposed SACs and potential SPAs are
listed in the June 2000 Scottish Executive document
entitled "Habitats and Birds Directives". This does not
include River Tay, Firth of Tay and Eden Estuary candidate
SACs which were announced subsequently.