Legislation to create National parks in Scotland was passed by the Scottish Parliament in August 2000, and National parks were established in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs in 2002 and in the Cairngorms in 2003. In June 2005, the Scottish Executive announced their intention to create Scotland’s first coastal & marine National Park, and SNH is currently developing more detailed proposals for this. Further information on the progress of this work and how you can be involved is available here.
An introduction to Scotland's National Parks can be found here. For further information on the history and the creation of Scotland's National parks and SNH"s role in that process, see here. Other information as well as contacts and links can be found on the Scottish Executives website on National Parks.
For those interested in more information about the Parks their official websites will be of interest;
SNH played a key role in the establishment of Scotland’s National Parks, and we continue to have close involvement in the management of these areas. To facilitate this work and the development of good working relationships with the Park Authorities and other relevant bodies in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and the Cairngorms, we have developed a policy statement. This statement sets out SNH's priorities for work concerning National Parks under three headings:
To support our work under these three themes, we continue to commission, or to contribute to, a variety of research projects which we expect will further the development of advice and guidance on a range of matters affecting National Parks.
This work has included developing a review of the natural heritage of the Cairngorms.
