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Beinn Eighe and Wester Ross UK Biosphere Reserves: status, opportunities and potential A preliminary review and assessment of opportunities and potential with particular reference to the criteria set out in Article 4 of the Statutory Framework of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves Beinn Eighe and Wester Ross A Report by Hambrey Consulting for DEFRA/UKMAB April 2009 www.hambreyconsulting.co.uk 1 Contents 1 Summary............................................................................................................. 3 2 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 5 2.1 The origin and nature of biosphere reserves ............................................... 5 2.2 Status of BRs in the UK ............................................................................... 6 2.3 Purpose and structure of this report ............................................................ 6 3 The status and functioning of the existing Biosphere Reserve .................... 7 4 Alternatives and opportunities for a future Biosphere Reserve in the area 7 4.1 Overview of Wester Ross, people, economy and ecology .......................... 8 4.2 Outcome of the scoping meeting – interest in taking this forward ............. 10 4.3 Possible alternatives in terms of area and scope ...................................... 11 5 Assessment of alternatives against current UN Article 4 Criteria .............. 14 5.1 Ecological Systems ................................................................................... 14 Existing BR ........................................................................................................ 14 Local BR ............................................................................................................ 14 Regional BR ....................................................................................................... 15 5.2 Biological Diversity: ................................................................................... 15 Existing BR ........................................................................................................ 15 Local BR ............................................................................................................ 15 Regional BR ....................................................................................................... 16 5.3 Regional sustainable development: .......................................................... 16 General .............................................................................................................. 16 Existing BR ........................................................................................................ 17 Local BR ............................................................................................................ 17 Regional BR ....................................................................................................... 17 5.4 Three Biosphere Reserve functions: ......................................................... 18 Existing BR ........................................................................................................ 18 Local BR ............................................................................................................ 18 Regional BR ....................................................................................................... 19 5.5 Zonation .................................................................................................... 19 5.6 Organisation .............................................................................................. 20 5.7 Necessary provisions: ............................................................................... 21 5.8 Summary ................................................................................................... 23 6 Assessment of potential social, economic and environmental benefit of a new-style Biosphere Reserve based on Beinn Eighe NNR. ................................ 24 6.1 Strengths and weaknesses of future alternatives ...................................... 29 Annex 1: Report of initial scoping meeting .......................................................... 30 Annex 2: Ecological information ........................................................................... 33 Annex 3: Social and economic information ......................................................... 36 Annex 4: Recent community, educational and research activities. ................... 41 2 1 Summary . 1. The existing Biosphere Reserve at Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross no longer meets the revised UNESCO criteria. Although of exceptional ecological quality it fails to encompass sufficient gradation of human intervention or opportunity for sustainable development 2. It would be possible to extend the current Beinn Eighe Biosphere Reserve (BR) /National Nature Reserve (NNR) into a new-style BR - if local people and the wider Wester Ross business community wished to do this. Seemingly remote but actually quite accessible - and with an economy underpinned by tourism and extensive land management - Wester Ross might benefit from the BR accolade and could possibly qualify as a new-style reserve with little if any change to existing organisational structures or management. 3. The geographic situation of the current reserve is such that, partly by virtue of it being a very large mountain, it is already a well-known feature of the Kinlochewe/Torridon/Loch Maree area and plays a part in attracting visitors to the area. The existing reserve would serve as a very fine core area. Although well protected by national and international legislation it is fully accessible to the agile, thanks to Scottish access legislation. It has fine research and educational facilities, a visitor centre, informative trails and community-minded management. 4. A buffer zone of surrounding Sites of special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and sensitively managed land already exists, and the exact size of this, or indeed of any of the other zones, would be a matter for detailed local discussion. 5. Several viable alternatives present themselves in terms of a suitable transition zone. The existence of both the Wester Ross Alliance, and the Wester Ross Brand suggests that Wester Ross itself may not be too large an area for a BR. A larger area has the advantage of bringing a wider range of potential benefits to a broader constituency; although the costs of securing support and mobilising associated initiative may be higher than for a smaller area. 6. It is apparent that local business organisations are determined to better market Wester Ross. Given the importance of tourism to this area and the relative lack of any other local produce it would seem that the greatest potential benefit of a new-style BR here would be as an extra marketing label for tourism providers. This is perfectly valid as an example of sustainable development: it has been the focus of the economy of this region for some years; it maintains a large sector of the economy; and it provides an inspiring destination that is so different to the rest of the UK as to be a real alternative to overseas holidays. 7. There is always the risk that benefits might be marginal and initial costs would need to be kept to a minimum to avoid the risk of unproductive expenditure of any kind. Careful thought would need to be given as to how to effectively include the BR tag in publicity so that it was seen as an extra accolade for the area as it already is, rather than as a new entity altogether. Including the UNESCO logo in existing publicity might be a cost-effective way forward. 8. Our initial impression, based on discussions at a meeting held in Kinlochewe, and follow-up discussions by phone, suggests that there is significant interest in exploring the various options for taking this forward. It is possible that the council and business community might want to move quite fast, and take advantage of the possible increase in UK tourists arising from the current financial situation. If so advice from UK Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Committee should be sought, 3 9. Equally, based on further deliberations, the local community and other stakeholders may see relatively little added value over and above the Wester Ross Brand and the National Scenic Area status, and may decide instead to focus their efforts on these and other initiatives. A key consideration would be the time and cost required to gain broad levels of support from a wide range of communities scattered over a large area. 4 2 Introduction 2.1 The origin and nature of biosphere reserves The origin of Biosphere Reserves goes back to the "Biosphere Conference" organized by UNESCO in 1968, the first intergovernmental conference to seek to reconcile the conservation and use of natural resources, thereby foreshadowing the present-day notion of sustainable development1. In 1973, the concept of Biosphere Reserves was formally established within UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme. Their functions were to conserve biodiversity and provide facilities for research, education and training. The MAB philosophy and programme was substantially revised at the 1995 Seville Conference that created a "Statutory Framework of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves” and associated criteria for designation. According to Article 3 of this framework, Biosphere Reserves (BRs) are expected to be “sites of excellence to explore and demonstrate conservation and sustainable development on a regional
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