e-Digest Statistics about: Land Use and Land Cover
Protected areas
National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National Scenic Areas in Scotland are the major areas which have been designated to protect their landscape importance. Table 15 shows the areas of these, together with the lengths of defined Heritage Coasts by country and region.
Table 16 gives the number and total areas of sites which have been designated to protect their natural conservation features. Sites of national and international importance are selected on the basis of scientific evidence related to the importance of the site for the species to be protected and the diversity of flora and fauna found there. 576 candidate Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) under the EC Habitats Directive have been the selected and submitted to the European Commission. Further sites are planned for submission.
Figure 3 (PDF 2500kb) shows most of the designated and protected areas in the UK. Further information can be obtained from the Wildlife and Countryside Directorate of Defra.
The country nature conservation agencies - Countryside Council for Wales, English Nature and Scottish Natural Heritage have a duty under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to notify any area of land which in their opinion is "of special interest by reason of any of its flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features". Table 17 shows the increase in the total area of land protected by Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) since 1982. SSSIs were previously notified to local planning authorities under the National Parks and Countryside Act, 1949. The difference in the area figures between the first and second columns of the table provides an estimate of the area covered by SSSIs where a decision has still to be taken about whether to re-notify under the 1981 Act. The final column of Table 17 shows the total area of SSSIs which are covered by management agreements. These agreements are negotiated, under the terms of the Countryside Act 1968 (section 15), with the owners and occupiers, and they provide for the management required to protect and enhance the special interest of the SSSI.
Condition of SSSI habitat
SSSIs are intended to safeguard the best of England's wildlife and geology. In England, there are over 4,000 sites covering around 1 million hectares, around 7½ per cent of the total land area. See Chart 10
A programme to assess the condition of all SSSIs was started by English Nature in 1997. The baseline assessment was completed in March 2003 when around 57 per cent of sites assessed were in a favourable or recovering condition. On the basis of assessments completed by English Nature at the end of March 2006, 72.3 per cent of SSSI land in England is in favourable or recovering condition.
The Government has a Public Service Agreement target to bring 95 per cent of nationally important wildlife sites into favourable condition by 2010.
Regional data
The local representatives of English Nature should be able to provide assistance about protected areas at a local level.
Further Information:
- Data Tables:
- 15 Designated areas by region at March 2005 XLS
- 16 Protected areas at 31 March 2005 XLS
- 17 Area of Sites of Special Scientific Interest: 1982-2005 XLS
- Chart 10: Condition of SSSI habitats: as at 31st March 2006 XLS
- Sustainable Development Indicators:
- Contextual indicators: Protecting our natural resources and enhancing the environment
Land use - Internet Links:
- Defra: Wildlife and Countryside Directorate
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
- English Nature
- Natural England
- Scottish Natural Heritage
- Environment and Heritage Service (Northern Ireland)
- Countryside Council for Wales
Your questions and comments about information presented on this page are welcome. Contact information and Email . Copyright of data and/or information presented or attached in this document may not reside solely with this Department. Please see guidance on Copyright.
Page last modified: 15 February 2006
Page published: 15 February 2006