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National Parks: Delivering for Scotland

This Partnership Plan aims to address issues and opportunities within Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, while ensuring delivery of national priorities and achieving benefits for Scotland beyond the Park boundaries.

By leading successful partnerships, our National Parks can contribute significantly to the Scottish Government’s Programme for Scotland, which is aimed at achieving:

A resilient and growing economy, an education system that enables true equality of opportunity for all, public services that are efficient, fair, flexible and valued, and a vibrant, open and inclusive cultural life
(Source: A Plan for Scotland, The Government’s Programme for Scotland 2016-17)

busy-waterfront-moored-boats-and-groups-of-people-outside-houses — Scotland’s National Parks exemplify the connections between nature and our economy.

Our National Parks can make a significant contribution to many of the Scottish Government’s stated priorities including:

Making our Education System World Class With Equal Opportunities for All
Growing a Productive, Sustainable Economy with More Jobs and Fair Work
Transforming Public Services – Nurturing the NHS, Working for a Healthier Scotland, and Making Scotland Safer
Putting People in Charge and Creating Opportunities

National Parks bring clarity of focus in addressing a range of interrelated rural issues at a regional and local scale ensuring better coordinated delivery and best use of limited public resources. This also makes our Parks a perfect place to innovate and develop new solutions.

This Plan seeks to promote partnerships and activities that can:

Manage and improve the condition of our natural assets on a landscape scale
Promote, test and prototype innovative solutions to rural issues
Widen the range of benefits that the National Park’s outstanding environment can provide to Scotland’s people and its visitors

Scottish National Parks

Scotland has two National Parks, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park and Cairngorms National Park. Scotland’s National Parks share four aims set out by the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000:

To conserve and enhance the natural and cultural heritage of the area
To promote sustainable use of the natural resources of the area
To promote understanding and enjoyment (including enjoyment in the form of recreation) of the special qualities of the area by the public
To promote sustainable economic and social development of the area’s communities

These aims are to be pursued collectively. However, if there is conflict between the first aim and any of the others
then greater weight must be given to the first aim (section 9.6 of the National Parks (Scotland) Act).

Some of the important national priorities that the National Park can contribute to include:

A productive, sustainable economy

couple-holding-each-other-affectionately-looking-into-distance-admiring-stunning-landscape-of-loch-lomond-and-luss-hills-at-milarrochy-bay — Growing international reputation as ‘must visit’ destinations can contribute significantly to the Scottish rural economy.

Sustainable economic growth. Our National Parks’ growing international reputation as ‘must visit’ destinations can contribute significantly to the Scottish rural economy, supporting business growth and providing more jobs and training opportunities especially for young people in rural areas.
Climate change. Promoting land uses and management practices that help better manage carbon and mitigate against climate change, for example, through extensive woodland expansion and peatland restoration. By taking an integrated approach to land use planning, Scotland’s National Parks can also help deliver significant adaptation and resilience for their communities and in surrounding lower river catchments.
Valuing nature and reversing biodiversity loss. Covering around 9% of Scotland including some of the most important areas for rare and threatened species, Scotland’s National Parks deliver landscape scale conservation. Large scale habitat enhancement together with priority species action in National Parks, makes a significant contribution to meeting Scotland’s 2020 Biodiversity Challenge.
Natural capital. Scotland’s National Parks exemplify the connections between nature and our economy. With over 6 million visitors each year our National Parks are national assets that protect and enhance the natural capital underpinning tourism and land-based businesses. Covering the upper catchments of some of Scotland’s major rivers, our National Parks are key places to connect the value of land management with wider community and economic benefits.

Putting People in Charge

two-women-chatting-and-pointing-at-map-of-balloch-during-charette — There is growing potential and opportunity for communities to provide services, manage assets and deliver projects.

Community empowerment. Building on the strong foundation and legacy of community capacity building and action planning, communities in our National Parks are increasingly taking the lead in local development and regeneration. There is growing potential and opportunity for communities to provide services, manage assets and deliver projects important to them and to the wider Park area.

Working for a Healthier Scotland

cyclist-with-helmet-on-against-blue-sky — More people can improve their wellbeing by getting active and connecting with nature

Delivering a national health service. The continuing development of the National Parks’ networks of recreation routes and opportunities, in close proximity to Scotland’s urban populations, offers significant scope to engage with the health sector. This will enable more people to improve their wellbeing by getting active and connecting with nature as part of Scotland’s ‘Natural Health Service’.