Cross-party support for Flow Country's Unesco World Heritage Site bid
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Far north MP Jamie Stone has joined politicians from across the spectrum in backing the Flow Country's bid for World Heritage Site status.
The cross-party support was shown at a showcase reception hosted by the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland at Dover House in Whitehall.
MPs from each of the main parties pledged support for the Flow Country Partnership’s Keep Us Covered campaign to secure the world’s first peatland World Heritage Site.
The event was opened by Minister for Scotland, John Lamont, followed by contributions from the SNP’s shadow secretary of state for digital, culture media and sport (DCMS) John Nicolson, Labour’s shadow secretary of state for Scotland Ian Murray, and Jamie Stone, MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and the Liberal Democrat DCMS spokesperson.
Members heard how accreditation from Unesco for the 190,000-hectare site stretching across Caithness and Sutherland would deliver a globally significant boost to the efforts of Scotland and the UK to tackle climate change and protect biodiversity.
Professor Stuart Gibb, chairman of the Flow Country Partnership, said: “The reception was about driving home to politicians from every party the local, national and international significance of the Flow Country for efforts to tackle climate change, protect endangered plant and animal species and safeguard the future of vulnerable rural communities.”
Mr Lamont said: “As we look ahead to a decision on Unesco World Heritage status, we truly hope that the Flow Country can become the first peatland to achieve a status that puts it on a par with such natural wonders as the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef.
“The Flow Country Partnership already has a great story to tell, one of inspiring feats of regeneration, with tracts of bog healing and now restored. World Heritage Site status can help spread news of that success to a global audience, helping secure an astonishing natural asset for the people of Caithness and Sutherland and the wider British people too.
"It will also help rebuild the store of knowledge of the environmental benefits that the bog secures. I wish the bid every success.”
Mr Stone, who described the area as "achingly beautiful", said it was personal to him that the bid succeeds.
"The Flow Country Partnership have made a fantastic achievement with the progress made so far and I am hugely grateful for all the work that has gone into preparing the case for Unesco and engaging with local communities to help them understand the benefits that listing can have for them," he said.
“Thanks also to the Scottish Government and the UK government for their ongoing support. It’s such a valuable thing to have representatives from every different political party joined in agreement. There is huge consensus that the bid should proceed and that will make all the difference in the end."
The bid, which comprises an extensive nomination dossier and management plan will be submitted to Unesco by the UK government (DCMS) at the end of this year and, following a site visit, the outcome will be decided in mid-2024.
