Contents
Chairman's preface
Introduction
The value of our mountain land
Land use and change
What is going wrong
Putting things right
Making things happen
The Commission's recommendations
Preface
The beauty of Scotland's countryside is one of our greatest assets. It is the Commission's duty to promote its conservation, but this can only be achieved with the co-operation, commitment and effort of all those who use and manage the land for many different purposes.
The Commission has been involved with few environmental and social issues which generated so much discussion as the question of securing the protection of Scotland's mountain heritage for the benefit, use and enjoyment of present and future generations. We therefore responded with alacrity to Government's encouragement to look at this question afresh, and this report is the outcome of a review conducted over the past year, during which wide consultation was carried out. This is, however, the Commission's report and we accept full responsibility for its content and conclusions.
Acknowledgement is made elsewhere in the report to the efforts of all those who have contributed over the past year to the completion of this work, not least the members of the review advisory panel and Commission members and staff. I would, nevertheless, like to record my special gratitude to the Commission's Vice-Chairman, Mr John Arnott, who has guided this complex exercise from the outset.
The report has been written at a time when amalgamation of the functions of the Countryside Commission for Scotland and Nature Conservancy council (Scotland) is being proposed. Assumptions in the report about the role of the resulting Scottish Natural Heritage Agency may require some adjustment if merger of the two organisations does not come about.
I trust that the report will be of interest to all those who share our concern for a sustainable future for Scotland's countryside and people.
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