Special Areas of Conservation

| Introduction to SACs
| Background to SACs
| Details of SACs
| Marine SACs
| Management of SACs
| Habitats and Birds Directives Information |

Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are areas designated under the European Directive commonly known as the ‘Habitats’ Directive. Together with Special Protection Areas, which are designated under the Wild Birds Directive for wild birds and their habitats, SACs form the Natura 2000 network of sites.

SNH’s Role in SACs

SNH acts as the advisor to Government in proposing selected sites for Ministerial approval as possible SACs. SNH then consults with key parties over the site proposals on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The consultees, who include owners and occupiers of land, local authorities and other interested parties, are sent details of the proposed site boundaries and the habitats and/or species for which they qualify. SNH also negotiates the longer term management of these sites. Following consultation, SNH forwards all responses to Scottish Ministers who then make a decision about whether to submit the site to the European Commission as a candidate SAC. Once submission of all candidate sites is completed, the Commission, together with Member States, considers the site series across Europe as a whole. At this stage sites which are adopted by the Commission become Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), after which they can be finally designated as Special Areas of Conservation by national governments.

All candidate SACs in Scotland were approved by the European Commission as SCIs on 7 December 2004. Scottish Ministers then formally designated all these sites as Special Areas of Conservation on 17 March 2005.