THE Flow Country has become the UK’s newest Unesco World Heritage Site.
It is the first peatland bog to ever gain the prestigious status and is Scotland’s first natural World Heritage Site.
The landscape, widely considered to be the largest area of blanket bog in the world and covering around 1500 square miles in Caithness and Sutherland, has become the UK's 35th Unesco World Heritage Site.
It joins a very exclusive list of natural Unesco World Heritage Sites, including the Grand Canyon in the US and Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Due to the nature of the site, the listing is also expected to bring new opportunities for local people through the creation of green jobs in landscape restoration and conservation.
Reacting to the news on Friday, Scottish Government acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said it was a “momentous day” for both Caithness and Sutherland and Scotland overall.
“The Flow Country is an area of truly outstanding natural beauty and its diverse ecosystems and peatlands are a vital part of our efforts to combat climate change and nature loss. This new global prominence will help preserve the area for many generations to come," she said.
"Their passion and determination has not only elevated the Flow Country to Unesco World Heritage Status, but has ensured its protection far into the future.”
It will be the seventh Scottish site to receive World Heritage status, joining St Kilda and the Forth Bridge, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Scotland.
The Flow Country is home to a wide range of wetland and moorland species, including many birds, such as the red-throated diver, golden eagle, and short-eared owl.
It has been considered to be of outstanding universal value due to its remarkable diversity, the home that it provides for these species, and the role it plays in storing around 400 million tonnes of carbon in the north of Scotland.
Scottish Culture Secretary Angus Robertson also took to Twitter/X to celebrate the "fantastic news".
Fantastic News: The Flow Country in northern Scotland has been added to the @UNESCO World Heritage List. #UNESCO #WorldHeritage 🏴🌍 https://t.co/GmwOR32QWa
— Angus Robertson (@AngusRobertson) July 26, 2024
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray commented: “Scotland has a rich history of Unesco World Heritage sites with six spread across our country from Heart of Neolithic Orkney to New Lanark, the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh to St Kilda and I am delighted the Flow Country has become Scotland’s seventh.
“Thanks to a strong endorsement from the UK Government, the Flow Country, which has international importance as a habitat and for the diverse range of rare and unusual breeding birds it supports, is now the first peatland site on the World Heritage list.”
Graham Neville, who led the bid for the Flow Country World Heritage Site project and NatureScot’s head of operations for the north of Scotland, thanked all those who had worked to make this possible.
"This successful bid is testament to the hard work and determination of the Flow Country World Heritage project team as well as community members, scientific experts, businesses, landowners and public bodies from across the Flow Country who have been so generous with their time, knowledge and expertise to shape the bid for the benefit of the whole area," Neville said. "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.
"It is a wonderful recognition of the expert stewardship of farmers and crofters in maintaining this incredible ecosystem as a natural legacy for future generations.”
