Landscape
For its small area, Northern Ireland has a great variety of scenic countryside which reflects its contrasting geology and topography and a long history of settlement and land use. The mosaic of prehistoric monuments, traditional farms and buildings, forest plantations and wildlife habitats all contribute to the special landscapes that are part of our culture and heritage.
The legislative basis for the Department's actions is the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands Order (NI) 1985 (NCALO). This provides that, as well as designating the finest landscape areas as either Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) or National Parks, the Department may take steps to manage them for both conservation and recreation.
The purpose of designation is to ensure policies and action relating to:
- Conserving or enhancing the natural beauty or amenities of that area;
- Conserving wildlife, historic objects or natural phenomena within it;
- Promoting its enjoyment by the public;
- Providing or maintaining public access to it.
Landscape in itself is difficult to value objectively. Much of what is valued in a landscape is a melange of natural features and social and cultural history, which is highly evocative and thus important to people. The poignancy of this is outwardly reflected in art, poetry and song and inwardly in a sense of pride, belonging and comfort, all reinforcing this feeling of 'value'. Increasingly this value is also being realised in economic terms with the overt marketing of landscape for tourism and as a pleasant place to recreate or live.
Valuing Our Environment
The Economic Impact of the Environment in Northern Ireland
The environment of Northern ireland is one of its greatest assests, with stunning landscapes, an outstanding coastline, a complex variety of wildlife and a rich built and cultural heritage.
These environmental riches include 9 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 251 Areas of Special Scientific Interest, 1,500 scheduled monuments, 8,500 listed buildings and 15,000 archaeological sites. This environment is not only valuable and essential in its own right, but also has huge significance for our economy.
In 2006, a partnership of nine leading environmental NGOs together with the Environment and Heritage Service of Northern Ireland commissioned a study into the economic significance of Northern Ireland's environment, termed its 'Environmental Economy'. The report was completed by GHK Consulting and the Countryside Consultancy.
The research reveals that -
- economic activities related to the environment of Northern Ireland contribute £573 million to the regional economy
- these environment-related economic activities support 32,570 full-time equivalent jobs.
Valuing Our Environment full report (pdf 937KB)
is available for download, and also the Summary report (pdf 1396KB).
The NGOs involved in the study include -
- Conservation Volunteers Northern Ireland
- Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
- The National Trust
- Nothern Ireland Environment Link
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
- Ulster Wildlife Trust
- Woodland Trust
- Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
- World Wildlife Fund
BBC Northern Ireland has just produced a new website called LANDSCAPES UNLOCKED. This two-tier interactive resource uses footage from the popular BBC NI Sky High series, and features aerial photography and supplementary material to help users explore important landscape features in Northern Ireland. To access this site please go to www.bbc.co.uk/ni/schools/landscapes