Royal visit marks Flow Country’s UNESCO success
- Flow Country project team welcomes visit from His Majesty The King after securing UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
- The area became the first natural site in the UK to receive this recognition in 23 years, when it was approved by the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi on 26 July.
- The celebration event was held to showcase to The King the Flow Country’s exceptional natural value and crucial role in wildlife conservation and climate change mitigation.
Today [31 July 2024] the Flow Country project team welcomed His Majesty The King who commended the award of UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
The world’s most expansive blanket peat bog, the Flow Country, spans much of Caithness and Sutherland in the north of Scotland. It was granted the designation reserved for sites of exceptional natural, cultural, historical or scientific significance by the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi last week.
Achieving the status means the Flow Country becomes Scotland’s first World Heritage Site inscribed for its natural criteria and highlights the global importance of its critical ecosystem for wildlife and an important defence against climate change.
Joining the bid team, volunteers and community members for the celebration, The King unveiled a plaque
During The visit he was briefed on the dedication of the bid team in achieving this accolade, the significance of the Flow Country’s natural ecosystems and its contributions to biodiversity and the economy in the north of Scotland.
The World Heritage Site status is anticipated to realise a range of environmental, social, cultural, and economic benefits for the north of Scotland including the creation of job opportunities in landscape restoration and conservation, and an increase in sustainable tourism
