After nearly four decades of advocacy, the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland in northern Scotland has been awarded world heritage status, marking a significant achievement for one of the UK’s most remarkable yet lesser-known landscapes.
This vast region spans almost 2,000 square kilometres (469,500 acres) and is home to one of the world’s most extensive and pristine blanket bog ecosystems.
Blanket bogs are unique wetland habitats formed when peat, a soil composed of partially decayed organic matter, accumulates in waterlogged conditions.
The Flow Country’s blanket bog is one of the largest and most intact examples globally, making it an area of exceptional scientific and ecological significance.
World heritage status, granted by UNESCO, is a prestigious and rare honour, especially for a natural landscape. This designation is reserved for places of outstanding cultural, historical, or scientific importance.
Rebecca Tanner, who led the campaign to secure this recognition, expressed her delight at the successful outcome.
“This is just the start of the story. The real work begins now, working with the local community to realise the benefits of World Heritage status and protect the Flow Country for generations to come.”
With this award, the Flow Country joins an exclusive group of only 121 landscapes worldwide that have earned this designation.
In addition to its vast peatlands, the Flow Country encompasses a diverse range of natural features, including pools, lochs, hills, and mountains. The region’s unique ecosystem supports a variety of species, such as sphagnum mosses, other wetland plants, and numerous insects.
It is also a haven for rare bird species like greenshank, golden plover, dunlin, and hen harrier, as well as mammals such as otters and water voles. Notably, the area is home to sundews, carnivorous plants that thrive in the nutrient-poor, peaty soil by trapping and digesting insects.
Beyond its ecological value, the Flow Country plays a crucial role in combating climate change. The peat deposits in this region have been accumulating for around 10,000 years, since the retreat of the ice sheets that once covered much of the UK. These deposits store vast amounts of carbon, with estimates suggesting that the entire system could contain as much as 400 million tonnes of carbon—twice the amount found in all of Britain’s woodlands.
In some areas, the peat is thought to be up to 10 meters thick, enough to submerge two double-decker buses stacked on top of one another.
The Flow Country also holds significant historical value, with evidence of human activity dating back thousands of years, adding another layer of importance to this remarkable landscape.
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