Envisioning future landscapes in the Environmentally Sensitive Areas of Scotland

Citation

Simpson I, Parsisson D, Hanley N & Bullock CH (1997) Envisioning future landscapes in the Environmentally Sensitive Areas of Scotland. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 22 (3), pp. 307-320. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0020-2754.1997.00307.x

Abstract
Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) designated under EC Structure Regulation 797/85 now cover 1.4 million ha of the Scottish countryside and are likely to make a substantial contribution to the regulation of landscape change. Visual changes to landscapes with (policy on) and without (policy off) the ESA programme in two Scottish ESA areas, Breadalbane and the Machair, are predicted through impact-assessment procedures and computer manipulation of photographic images. The methodological requirements for such predictions are outlined and substantial differences in landscape characteristics under policy on/off scenarios are revealed. Such approaches to landscape change are an essential foundation for the development of environmental cost-benefit analyses and will contribute to public consultation processes.

Keywords
EU agri-environment policy; visual landscapes; photographic manipulation; environmental impact assessment

Journal
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers: Volume 22, Issue 3