This article gives an overview of the structure of environmental and cultural conservation in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, a constituent country of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Upon the introduction of

devolved government Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

the environment and built heritage were not listed as reserved issues, and so for the most part conservation is the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government, and the

public bodies A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in so ...

that report to them. Although originally reserved, responsibility for all planning and nature conservation matters at sea up to 200 miles from the Scottish coast was transferred to the Scottish Government in 2008. Some matters related to conservation, such as international treaties and border controls on prohibited species, remain the responsibility of the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

. Much environment legislation in Scotland is based on the adoption into Scots law of

European Union directives European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

, such as the

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The E ...

. As such there may be changes to the structure and nature of conservation activities in Scotland following the UK's departure from the European Union.

Scottish Government

Scottish Government directorates

Conservation matters are dealt with across a number of directorates of the Scottish Government: *Environmental protection, forestry and biodiversity are the responsibility of the Environment and Forestry Directorate. *The

Marine Scotland The Marine Scotland Directorate ( gd, Cùisean Mara na h-Alba) is a directorate of the Scottish Government. Marine Scotland manages Scotland's seas and freshwater fisheries along with delivery partners NatureScot and the Scottish Environmen ...

Directorate is responsible for the integrated management of Scotland's seas. *The Energy and Climate Change Directorate covers measures to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

. *Cultural Heritage is the responsibility of the Culture, Tourism and Major Events Directorate.

Scottish ministers

Three Cabinet Secretaries hold portfolios with responsibility for conservation issues: *The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport has ministerial responsibility for many conservation issues, including cross-government co-ordination of Net Zero policy,

climate crisis ''Climate crisis'' is a term describing global warming and climate change, and their impacts. The term and the alternative term ''climate emergency'' have been used to describe the threat of global warming to humanity (and their planet), and to u ...

and environmental protection, biodiversity, sustainable development, renewable energy, energy and energy consents, flood prevention and coastal erosion, and water quality. *The portfolio of the

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, commonly referred to as the Rural Affairs Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for rural Scotland and its islands, agriculture, for ...

includes ministerial responsibility for agriculture and

crofting Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production particular to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th century townships, individual crofts were established on the bett ...

, fisheries and aquaculture, and forestry. *The portfolio of the

Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, commonly referred to as the Constitution Secretary, is a Scottish cabinet, cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary is supported by the Minister ...

includes ministerial responsibility for architecture and built heritage.

Public bodies

The following are

public bodies of the Scottish Government Public bodies of the Scottish Government are organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government. They form a tightly meshed network of executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies ("quangoes"); tribunals; and nationalised industr ...

, with notes on their areas of responsibility.

Executive agencies

Forestry and Land Scotland Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) ( gd, Coilltearachd agus Fearann Alba) is responsible for managing and promoting Scotland's national forest estate: land, predominantly covered in forest, owned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the nation. ...

is responsible for management of the national forest estate. *

Scottish Forestry Scottish Forestry ( gd, Coilltearachd n h-Alba) is the public body responsible for forestry regulation, policy and support to private landowners in Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 2019, to take over some of the responsibilities of Forestry Co ...

is responsible for forestry regulation and support.

Executive non-departmental public bodies

Cairngorms National Park Authority Cairngorms National Park ( gd, Pàirc Nàiseanta a' Mhonaidh Ruaidh) is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Tross ...

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

is responsible for cultural and built heritage. * Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority *

NatureScot NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...

is responsible for landscape protection and wildlife conservation. *The

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

undertakes scientific study into plants and their conservation. *

Scottish Environment Protection Agency The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA; gd, Buidheann Dìon Àrainneachd na h-Alba) is Scotland's environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority.Crown Estate Scotland Crown Estate Scotland ( gd, Oighreachd a' Chrùin Alba) is the public corporation of the Scottish Government responsible for the management of land and property in Scotland owned by the monarch 'in right of the Crown'. It devolved from the Cro ...

is responsible for managing a range of rural, coastal and marine assets that are held 'in right of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

'. *

Scottish Canals Scottish Canals is the Scottish Government body responsible for managing the country's inland waterways. Formerly a division of British Waterways, it became a stand-alone executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government on 2 J ...

manages Scotland's inland waterways.

United Kingdom Government

Within the UK Government, environmental protection is the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Two UK-wide

executive agencies An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nor ...

with responsibility for conservation matters include Scotland within their remit: *The

Joint Nature Conservation Committee The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the public body that advises the UK Government and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation. Originally established under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, J ...

(JNCC) co-ordinates the work of the UK's nature conservation bodies (SNH being the Scottish body). *The

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

co-ordinates international forestry policy support and certain plant health functions in respect of trees and forestry.

Non-governmental organisations

Many non-governmental organisations are active in conservation issues in Scotland. The following list provides some examples. *

Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland The Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) is a society dedicated to the protection and study of the built heritage of Scotland. It has around 1000 members and five regional groups responsible for commenting on planning applications in ...

Botanical Society of the British Isles The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) is a scientific society for the study of flora, plant distribution and taxonomy relating to Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The society was founded as the Bo ...

British Dragonfly Society The British Dragonfly Society is a conservation organisation in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1983 and its aims are to promote and to encourage the study and conservation of dragonflies and damselflies and their natural habitats, especial ...

Buglife Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust (usually referred to simply as Buglife) is a UK-based nature conservation charity. Structure Buglife's head office is in Peterborough, England; with additional offices in Scotland, Wales, Norther ...

* Butterfly Conservation *

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh's Civic Trust) is one of the world's oldest architectural conservation and urban planning monitoring organisations, founded in 1875. The Scottish judge Henry Cockburn (1779–1854) was a prominent campaigner t ...

Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and futu ...

Historic Churches Scotland Historic Churches Scotland (formerly the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust) is a registered charity founded in 1996 which looks after Scottish churches which are of outstanding historic or architectural significance but are no longer used for r ...

Institute of Conservation The Institute of Conservation (Icon) is the professional charitable body, representing and supporting the practice and profession of conservation. It has around 2500 members worldwide, including professional conservators, scientists and teachers i ...

John Muir Trust The John Muir Trust (JMT) is a Scottish charity, established in 1983 to conserve wild land and wild places for the benefit of all. The Trust runs an environmental award scheme, manages several estates, mainly in the Highlands and Islands of Scot ...

Marine Conservation Society The Marine Conservation Society is a UK based not-for-profit organization working with businesses, governments and communities to clean and protect the oceans. Founded in 1983, the group claims to be working towards "cleaner, better-protected, h ...

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

Plantlife Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...

Royal Scottish Forestry Society The Royal Scottish Forestry Society was founded in 1854 as the Scottish Arboricultural Society. In 1869, the society received the patronage of Queen Victoria and the "Royal" prefix was added in 1887. The name changed to the current one in 1930. ...

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment thr ...

(RSPB Scotland) *

Royal Zoological Society of Scotland The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is a learned society and registered charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by Thomas Haining Gillespie in 1909. In 1913, Edinburgh Town Council bought a large plot of land on Corstorphine ...

Scottish Civic Trust Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Scottish Ornithologists' Club The Scottish Ornithologists' Club (SOC) is a Scottish ornithological body, founded in March 1936 at the premises of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. As of 2008, the SOC has 2,200 members. The Club runs the Scottish Birds Records Committee ...

* Scottish Wildcat Association *

Scottish Wildlife Trust The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland. Description The Scottish Wildlife Trust has well over 35,000 members. The Scottish Wildlife Trust acquired its first ...

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...

* Trees for Life *

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. Its patron is Charles III, and its president is Kate Humble. History The WWT was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist a ...

(WWT) *

The Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tr ...

Protected areas

National environmental designations

National parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

—

National parks of Scotland The national parks of Scotland ( gd, Pàirc Nàiseanta) are managed areas of outstanding landscape where some forms of development are restricted to preserve the landscape and natural environment. At present, Scotland has two national parks: Loc ...

* National nature reserves *

National scenic areas National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

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 ...

(SSSI) — Lists of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Scotland *Nature Conservation

Marine Protected Areas Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conserv ...

(MPA)

National designations for historic and cultural sites

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

s *

Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s —

Listed buildings in Scotland This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a cont ...

Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland The Inventory of Historic Battlefields is a heritage register listing nationally significant battlefields in Scotland. The inventory was published for consultation in December 2010 by Historic Scotland, an agency of the Scottish Government, and l ...

*Historic

International designations

World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

— List of World Heritage Sites in Scotland *

Ramsar sites A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) ** Marshes on inorganic soils: *** Permanent (herb dominated) (Tp) *** P ...

—

List of Ramsar sites in Scotland This list includes all Ramsar sites in Scotland. Ramsar sites are internationally recognised wetland sites, protected under the terms of the Ramsar Convention, which was developed and adopted by participating nations at a meeting in Ramsar, Iran ...

* Natura 2000 **

Special Areas of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

— List of Special Areas of Conservation in Scotland **

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

s —

List of Special Protection Areas in Scotland This is a list of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in Scotland. {, class="wikitable" summary="Table of classified and potential SPAs in Scotland" , - ! style="width:42%;" , Site name ! style="width:10%;" , Site code ! style="width:8%;" , Countr ...

Local designations

* Local nature reserves *

Conservation areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

* Regional parks

Non-statutory protected areas

Forest parks of Scotland 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. There are currently six forest parks in Scotland. The first forest park w ...

Objects of conservation

Abbeys and priories in Scotland List of monastic houses in Scotland is a catalogue of the abbeys, priory, priories, friary, friaries and other monastic religious houses of Scotland. In this article alien houses are included, as are smaller establishments such as Monastic cel ...

Castles in Scotland Scottish castles are buildings that combine fortifications and residence, built within the borders of modern Scotland. Castles arrived in Scotland with the introduction of feudalism in the twelfth century. Initially these were wooden motte-and- ...

* Caledonian Forest * Fauna of Scotland *

Flora of Scotland The flora of Scotland is an assemblage of native plant species including over 1,600 vascular plants, more than 1,500 lichens and nearly 1,000 bryophytes. The total number of vascular species is low by world standards but lichens and bryophytes ...

* Gardens in Scotland *

Historic houses in Scotland This is intended to be as full a list as possible of country houses, castles, palaces, other stately homes, and manor houses in the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands; any architecturally notable building which has served as a residence f ...

Lighthouses in Scotland This is a list of lighthouses in Scotland. The Northern Lighthouse Board, from which much of the information is derived, are responsible for most lighthouses in Scotland but have handed over responsibility in the major estuaries to the port aut ...

Scotland's Great Trails Scotland's Great Trails are long-distance "people-powered" trails in Scotland, analogous to the National Trails of England and Wales or the Grande Randonnée paths of France. The designated routes are primarily intended for walkers, but may have se ...

- long-distance trails

References

{{Scotland topics