In February 2023, the campaign to secure World Heritage status for Scotland's Flow Country entered a new phase with the submission of the formal nomination dossier to UNESCO. The dossier sets out a detailed case for designating the 190,000-hectare site as the world's first peatland World Heritage Site. The aspiration behind this designation is to bring educational, social, and economic benefits to the area and ensure the preservation of this unique environment for future generations.
The proposed Flow Country World Heritage Site encompasses Caithness and Sutherland and lies at the core of one of the largest areas of blanket bog on the planet. This globally rare habitat comprises diverse peatland vegetation, bog pools, and a variety of rare and threatened bird and insect species. The exceptional universal value of The Flow Country arises from the quality and expanse of its blanket bog habitat, justifying its potential inclusion on the World Heritage List. The proposition to UNESCO underscores that The Flow Country stands as the finest exemplar of this habitat worldwide. The present significance of peatlands in addressing the climate crisis has further accentuated their importance.
Certainly, it remains uncertain whether the Flow Country will attain inscription on the World Heritage List; nevertheless, the process of advancing the project to the stage of submitting an application has wielded considerable influence. It has heightened the recognition of the global significance of the blanket bog habitat, its pivotal role in biodiversity, and its contribution to achieving net-zero goals. The journey to finalizing the dossier itself is poised to have a lasting impact, resonating at local, national, and international levels.
Comprehensive community consultation has been integral to every stage of the project, including the community consultation in 2018-2019. The Flows to the Future project has also established an array of visitor and research facilities, such as the Flows Lookout (a 6m high viewing tower), a new Flows Field Centre at Forsinard, and visitor information points across the Flow Country. Additionally, the project has conducted an extensive program of school and community activities.