History of the Flow Country’s World Heritage bid

The idea to nominate The Flow Country as a World Heritage Site was first voiced in the 1980s, when conservationists working in the Flow Country began to recognise both its extraordinary biodiversity, and its role in storing carbon from the atmosphere. The work to make this a reality began in earnest in 2012. After 8 years of work, in 2020, the Flow Country Partnership received excellent news, The Flow Country had passed the UK Technical Evaluation allowing it to be nominated for World Heritage Status.

The next step was preparing the nomination dossier. This complex piece of work included defining the boundaries of the site for the first time, a huge feat given the size of The Flow Country! The nomination dossier was completed and submitted in January 2023. The IUCN assessed this document and visited The Flow Country in August 2023. Based on this assessment, the IUCN’s recommendation to UNESCO was to inscribe The Flow Country as a World Heritage Site under criterion ix for the significance of its ecosystem quality.

On July 26th 2024, The Flow Country was inscribed as a World Heritage Site at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in New Delhi. It joins sites such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Serengeti and the Okavango Delta in being recognised for its global significance as an ecosystem. It is Scotland’s first World Heritage Site inscribed purely on natural criteria, as well as the first ever peatland World Heritage Site!