This project set out to define the essential qualities of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. By identifying what is really special about the park, planning and management could respond much more appropriately — protecting what is really important, and being less rigid about the rest, allowing local communities to develop in a sustainable way.
The work used an adapted version of the ‘quality of life capital’ methodology that LUC helped develop for the four English environmental agencies.
The methodology asks what aspects of the area are important and why: we may identify rare habitats, historic associations or spectacular views, and some places will be valued for all of these reasons.
When we know why an area is important and who to, and appreciate whether it is stable or under threat, we can devise management that responds to its biodiversity value, but which allows for the possibility of change in terms of recreational activities, or landscape enhancement.
The other advantage of our approach is that it allows for the integration of different disciplines, with ecologists, landscape specialists and archaeologists sitting around the same table for the first time.
