This is a list of the

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSIs) in the

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

Area of Search The following is a list of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by area of search, in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are areas of conservation, consisting of protected areas, recognised for their biological or geological significance. In Norther ...

(AOS).

History

SSSIs in the UK are notified using the concept of an Area of Search, an area of between and in size. The Areas of Search were conceived and developed between 1975 and 1979 by the

Nature Conservancy Council The Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) was a United Kingdom government agency responsible for designating and managing National Nature Reserves and other nature conservation areas in Great Britain between 1973 and 1991 (it did not cover Northern ...

(NCC), based on regions created by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

.Joint Nature Conservation Committee (1998 revision); ''Guidelines for the Selection of Biological SSSIs'', section 4.5, pp. 14–15. . Whereas England had its Areas of Search based on 46 counties, those in Wales were based on a combination of the counties and smaller districts. In 1974, Wales was divided into 8 counties, with 37

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. The NCC created 12 Welsh Areas of Search; they mostly follow county borders, but the larger counties (

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

and

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

) were divided into multiple Areas using district borders. Mid and

South Glamorgan , Government= South Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= , HQ= ...

were merged into a single AOS, whilst Llanelli district was included in the

West Glamorgan , HQ= County Hall, Swansea , Government= West Glamorgan County Council (abolished 1996) , Status= , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Wes ...

AOS. Due to subsequent local government reorganisation in the UK since 1972, many counties and districts have been divided, merged or renamed. Using the AOS system alone would make it difficult to search for individual SSSI citations via the

Countryside Council for Wales The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW; cy, Cyngor Cefn Gwlad Cymru (CCGC)) was a Welsh Assembly sponsored body responsible for wildlife conservation, landscape and countryside access authority for Wales. It was merged with Forestry Commissi ...

(CCW) database without knowing 1972 region divisions. As a result, the CCW groups Welsh SSSIs using the

subdivisions of Wales Since 1 April 1996, Wales has been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas ( cy, Awdurdodau unedol), styled as counties or county boroughs ( or ) for local government purposes. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the pr ...

formed in April 1996 by the

Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to create the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as ...

, resulting in 22

principal areas {{Short description, Formal legal term for a county in England and Wales In England and Wales local government legislation, a principal area is one of the sub-national areas established for control by a principal council. They include most of the ar ...

. Ceredigion AOS lies within the county of

. For SSSIs elsewhere in the UK, see

List of SSSIs by Area of Search The following is a list of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by area of search, in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are areas of conservation, consisting of protected areas, recognised for their biological or geological significance. In North ...

Sites

References

{{Protected areas of Wales