“Nature’s most precious gifts to humanity” is the motto of the UNESCO Natural World Heritage list, spanning 250 sites around the world. The organisation has protected around 3.5 million square kilometres worldwide, with 24 new spots added to its list this year. And it’s official: Scotland has its very first natural UNESCO site, Flow Country.
Located in the Scottish Highlands in Caithness and Sutherland, Flow Country is a massive area of peatland spanning over 2,400 square kilometres. What is more, it is the largest blanket bog in Europe, covered in bog pools and deep peat. Flow Country is also the first peatland to have been named a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, being recognised for its importance for local wildlife and the climate.
Scotland has seven world heritage sites in total, such as St Kilda and the Forth Bridge in Edinburgh, while the UK now boasts 35 spots in total.
Why is Flow Country so important for the planet and the environment?
On top of being home to species like golden eagles, short-eared owls, greenshanks and red-throated divers, Flow Country stores immense amounts of carbon within its deep peats. Peat is made from decomposed plants, while plants have absorbed the carbon. As a result, peatland is a massive carbon storage containing thousands of years of absorbed carbon, which, if released, could speed up global warming.
Credit: Albion Drones
Graham Neville, head of operations in the north of Scotland for NatureScot told STV: “World heritage status for the Flow Country is a momentous moment for Scotland’s people and their beloved landscape.”
“World heritage site status will lead to greater understanding of the Flow Country and raise the profile of Scotland’s peatlands globally for their value as biodiverse habitats and important carbon sinks.”
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Professor Mike Robinson, non-executive director for culture at the United Kingdom National Commission for Unesco, said: “World heritage status recognises the global importance of the Flow Country and its peat bogs, not only as an important ecosystem for wildlife but also, through their carbon storage, as a critical defence against the impact of climate change.
In this sense, world heritage and the protection afforded to it will contribute directly to sustainable development.”
The UK’s other natural sites are the Jurassic Coast and Giant’s Causeway – plus, the overseas territories, Gough and Inaccessible Island, and Henderson Island.