The Review: Its Origins and Scope
1.1 The Countryside Commission for Scotland was invited by the Scottish Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment, Lord James Douglas Hamilton, to "study management arrangements for Popular mountain areas such as the Cairngorms, taking into consideration the case for arrangements on national park lines in Scotland."
1.2 The Commission welcomed this invitation because it believes that there is a need to give new impetus to the care of Scotland's Mountains and also to review the role that these areas are to play for a rapidly changing society. This report presents the Commission's advice to Government on the future stewardship of the nation's mountain lands.
1.3 Mountain areas may be popular because they- are much visited, or popular in the sense of being highly valued for the quality of their scenery, wildlife or other attributes. The Commission takes the view - shared by many consultees to the review - that conservation of the quality of our mountain environment is of paramount importance in order to safeguard its use and enjoyment. There is a long record of efforts to conserve Scotland's natural heritage and to provide for its enjoyment, which is summarised overleaf.
1.4 Many consultees urged that the problems of Scotland's mountain areas occur over the whole of the uplands, and hence the review should not take a narrow geographic remit. Some parts of our mountains are more visited, some have greater natural beauty, others are wilder and more remote, but in most people's perceptions it is the whole assembly of rugged and remote land, the broad vistas and superb mix of land and water that attract.
1.5 An exact boundary cannot be put around the area of this review, but its geography can be taken to accord with land of the lowest agricultural potential, which has some coincidence with the distribution of Munros and Corbetts (hills over 3,000 and 2,500 feet respectively) shown in map 2. A generalised sketch of the areas that are both popularly valued and visited is shown on map 1, but at this small scale many local areas of attractive hill country are omitted.
1.6 Inevitably, from this geography, the review looks mainly north and west, where the prime areas of Scotland's mountains are to be found. But our main towns and cities all lie close to uplands which are much visited, and the Southern Uplands face some of the same problems and pressures as the northern hills. Some of the recommendations of this review are relevant also to these areas, which contribute to the diversity of Scottish hill country and are for many Scots the valued hills of home.
1.7 The Commission is charged with responsibilities for the conservation of natural beauty and for the enjoyment of the countryside. Both these functions link intimately with all rural land use practice and policy, and hence the review ranges widely in its scope as well as in geography.
1.8 Lastly, the Commission has approached this review with a commitment to sustainable management of our rural resources, aiming to secure use of our land and water for today's society in a way that will ensure that these same resources are handed undiminished to our successors. This philosophy is fundamental to our recommendations.