Orkney Environment Map
This googlemap plots the Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation located in Orkney.
There are 614 SAC’s in the UK, of which 235 are in Scotland. There are 253 SPA’s in the UK, 141 in Scotland.
With 19 located here Orkney has 2.2% of the UK total, by far the greatest concentration by land area of
anywhere in the UK.
Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are strictly protected sites classified in accordance with Article 4
of the EC Directive on the conservation of wild birds (79/409/EEC), also known as the Birds Directive,
which came into force in April 1979. They are classified for rare and vulnerable birds, listed in
Annex I to the Birds Directive, and for regularly occurring migratory species.
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are strictly protected sites designated under the EC Habitats Directive.
Article 3 of the Habitats Directive requires the establishment of a European network of important high-quality
conservation sites that will make a significant contribution to conserving the 189 habitat types and 788 species
identified in Annexes I and II of the Directive (as amended). If you click on the coloured pointers info boxes will
pop-up; further links are within these boxes to the relevant JNCC data.
