UK Protected Areas

The UK has many different types of Protected Area; some are established solely for nature conservation, while others serve a range purposes including nature, landscape and amenity values.

Within the UK, Protected Areas fall into a number of categories:

• Protected areas established under National Legislation. This includes Sites/Areas of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserves.
• Protected areas established as a result of European Union Directives or other European initiatives. This includes Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas.
• Protected areas set up under Global Agreements. This includes Ramsar sites.
• Marine Protected Areas. This includes Marine Conservation Zones and Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas.

The categories can overlap. For example Marine Protected Areas include national and international designations. It is also possible for an area of land (or sea) to fit into all four of the above categories.

JNCC has a variety of roles around the different protected area designations, which are described on the individual designation's webpages.