Welcome to the Flow Country – the most intact and extensive blanket bog system in the world!

Stretching across Caithness and Sutherland in the far north of Scotland this vast expanse of blanket bog comprises a complex set of interlinked pool systems and micro features that not only host an eye-catching flora and fauna but also play a vital role in our defence against the effects of climate change.

From above the land is a mottled pattern of peat and pools, their colours shifting like an opal. But look a little closer and you’ll find a world of amazing plants, rare birds, and a place to be inspired by peace and space.

Due to the global significance of the Flow Country it has long been suggested it should be nominated for World Heritage status (since 1988!) on the basis of the blanket bog environment and the species that call it home. The current importance of peatlands in fighting the climate crisis has raised its profile further.

In July 2024, The Flow Country was inscribed as a World Heritage Site – the world’s first peatland World Heritage Site!

The Flow Country Partnership will act as the main body that will oversee the World Heritage Site in conjunction with a partnership-based Steering Group. This group, which already exists and oversaw the bid process, has representatives from various stakeholders who have a role in looking after the Site. Community representatives as well as landowners and agencies are included.  In addition, there will be a small professional team to oversee the Site, and a range of technical working groups to focus on specific subjects.

The Flow Country Partnership, previously the Peatlands Partnership, is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), No. SC053100.

Alongside the management of the World Heritage Site, The Flow Country Partnership manages a variety of projects, including the Green Finance Initiative – an initiative that blends public and private finance to restore peatlands at scale.

About The Flow Country Partnership

The Flow Country Partnership exists to bring together a community including crofters, farmers, landowners/managers, local businesses, residents, ecologists and local government to grow the resilience of the Flow Country and its people.

The Flow Country Partnership will need to be both reactive to opportunities that arise and also proactive in creating opportunities within an ever-changing world. The Partnership will work to collectively develop a revitalised, sustainably managed landscape; to restore peatlands, safeguarding against threats like wildfires and bolstering Scotland’s Net Zero ambitions; and through these efforts create opportunities for thriving communities.

The Flow Country Partnership has three main objectives to work towards:

Protect:

  • Maintain the integrity of the world-class blanket bog and its globally significant biodiversity and carbon storage.
  • Uphold cultural heritage, traditions and history such as traditional land management which showcase and strengthen deep connections between the land and the people.
  • Recognise the strength of community, as an essential source of support and hope.

Restore:

  • Create opportunities for the local community, focusing on land knowledge, skills, and local businesses with shorter supply chains.
  • Encourage sustainable community and economic investment and local jobs that are compatible with protecting the landscape.
  • Promote and implement sustainable land management practices at scale with a focus on peatland restoration and the compounding biodiversity benefits this provides.

Enrich:

  • Increase visibility and connectivity of ongoing activities, bridging the gap between on-the ground action and national/regional policies.
  • Promote awareness and appreciation of wildlife, carbon storage, landscape, historical and cultural values of the peatlands.
  • Champion the area as a model for best practice management, research, and peatland restoration, benefiting peatlands locally and globally.

The Flow Country Partnership acknowledges that the challenges faced cannot be addressed in isolation—they are interwoven. Resilience will be built when local voices are listened to and different skills, strengths and perspectives can come together.

The end vision is one of a revitalised, sustainably managed landscape, with extensive sweeps of hill and bog intersected by fertile straths and woodlands. These straths and coastal strips support a mosaic of productive crofts and farms, rivers, forestry, native woodland, and local businesses within which communities flourish. The Flow Country Partnership hopes to harness the power of communities and produce something of real value to local people.