UNESCO World Heritage status bid for Caithness and Sutherland's Flow Country 'to step up a gear' following Highland Council meeting
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EFFORTS to have the Flow Country win UNESCO World Heritage status are to "step up a gear" after Highland Council threw further support behind the bid.
The massive expanse of blanket bog that makes up the Flow Country is the largest such habitat on the entire continent of Europe, and is not just deemed ecologically important due to its ecosystem – but is also seen as an important carbon sink in the fight against man-made climate change thanks to its deep layers of peat.
Its cultural and ecological importance has prompted an ongoing campaign to secure UNESCO World Heritage status, which if successful would see it rub shoulders with other Scottish sites like St Kilda, the Forth Bridge, the Antonine Wall, Edinburgh's Old and New Towns, New Lanark and Orkney's neolithic landscape.
And Highland councillors on the economy and infrastructure committee this week backed a request for the council to act as one of the "accountable bodies" submitting the World Heritage bid.
The committee heard that work has started on the bid nomination dossier, which will need to be completed and submitted to the UK government's department for digital, culture, media and sport by September next year. It will then be forwarded on to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by spring of 2023.
Highland Council has already appointed project officers. A steering group, working group and executive group are also expected to be set up following this week's approval.
The council has also been working with the likes of Scottish Natural Heritage, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the RSPB and Wildland Ltd on aspects of the bid.
A report before the committee said: "Whilst progress has already been made in recruiting a new project officer, work now needs to step up a gear to ensure appropriate structures are in place and key target dates are met.
"In particular boundaries need to be agreed and a comparative analysis needs to be undertaken which demonstrates the Flow Country is unique in a global context and therefore can justify UNESCO inscription."
Related news: Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland could be part of COP26 climate change conference
Related news: Report show importance of Flow Country's peat stores
