Make the whole of Scotland a National Park

The problem with National Parks is that they squeeze resources and visitors into small areas, creating more problems than they solve. Nature does not exist in ring-fenced areas - it is increasingly being recognised that having small nature reserves is not helping biodiversity or conservation. Nature needs to be at the heart of the whole country. Creating a few National Parks would inevitably attract funding to those areas and other areas will suffer.

Most of Scotland is rural. Creating a nationwide national park where agriculture, industry and nature conservation work together would have vast benefits for all.

Why the contribution is important

It recognises that nature does not exist in small packets and that it is unfair to specify one area over another to have a special status. Different areas have different niches - for example the west coast islands are different from the Cairngorms but each is just as important in its own way. Creating a national park in the Western Isles while ignoring Galloway would be saying that the Western Isles are more important for whatever reason.

by tracymc on May 18, 2022 at 05:48PM

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Average rating: 3.2
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Comments

  • Posted by Dggd May 19, 2022 at 12:19

    The national park is a micro project for society as a whole, in effect trial and error limited to a restricted scale
    Whole country approach set in stone and writing smells of utopian approach and in effect would dilute the appeal for parks.
    A useful way to test and prove and gently persuade the masses, the approach of the diamond industry, limit supply and make em want em

  • Posted by SJM14 May 19, 2022 at 12:44

    I support the principle that agriculture, industry and nature conservation should be working together in true collaboration. However based on my experience of living in a National Park Area I do not support the introduction of any more national parks until the existing ones are better managed in partnership with the local population.

  • Posted by JeremyHW May 19, 2022 at 21:33

    This is a very interesting suggestion. National parks are by their very nature a compromise between wilderness and human participation. This latter point refers not just to the management of wear and tear, of interference, of litter etc, but also of active use such as areas of farming, forestry and sea harvesting.
    I don't see this concept of the holistic approach for the whole of Scotland, but do understand the ideal. We need to sacrifice areas to urbanisation, but this in turn means that national parks are the more important. Yes, themselves great compromises to the natural environment, but manageable.

  • Posted by HeatherC May 20, 2022 at 16:29

    The idea is interesting. I see benefit in linking up existing (and future) national parks to create wildlife corridors. This might not entail the whole of Scotland but more of it, certainly.

  • Posted by IanDenton May 22, 2022 at 12:59

    Two problems with the current Scottish Parks: 1) the unresolved conflict in their basic structure between promoting development and conserving the environment and 2) the overriding of local democratic control of planning by the NP Boards. A whole-Scotland NP set up on these lines would be a disaster. A whole-Scotland enforceable and clear policy on environmental protection would be fine of course.

  • Posted by MarionRobertson May 24, 2022 at 13:58

    The long-term goal of an all-Scotland NP is a legitimately radical aspiration given the climate emergency. New NPs (land and marine) could be added at regular intervals as incremental steps to achieving that goal. Scotland’s public sector bodies eg Marine Scotland, SEPA & relevant local authorities would need additional powers, regulations and resources from Holyrood to work with communities, businesses and industry to realising this greener, more sustainable version of Scotland. Such an endeavour would enable the invaluable learnings and outcomes from existing NPs to drive continuous improvement. Commitment from local stakeholders could be a key criteria for application success.

  • Posted by camusfearna May 31, 2022 at 12:38

    In response to Mr Denton's comments, The founding legislation intentionally recognises that there is a tension between promoting development and conserving the environment and that as areas where people live and work and visit it is not possible to exclusively protect nature and ignore the need for sustainable development that is considered carefully within the context of a local development plan and dealt with under Scottish Planning Policy. And there I no overriding off local democratic control of planning, given that two-thirds of the NP boards comprise locally-elected and Council-nominated members, specifically to ensure local representation and understanding.

  • Posted by adm June 06, 2022 at 16:52

    I struggle with the 'purposes' of the National Parks in the legislation, because these should apply to all of Scotland.
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