| The SSSI series has been developed over the last 50 years as the national suite of sites providing statutory protection for the best examples of the UK’s flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features. These sites are also used to underpin other national and international nature conservation designations. Most SSSIs are privately owned or managed; others are owned or managed by public bodies or non-government organisations. The SSSIs/ASSI designation may extend into intertidal areas out to the jurisdictional limit of local authorities, generally Mean Low Water in England and Northern Ireland; Mean Low Water of Spring tides in Scotland. In Wales, the limit is Mean Low Water for SSSIs notified before 2002, and, for more recent notifications, the limit of Lowest Astronomical Tides, where the features of interest extend down to LAT. There is no provision for marine SSSIs/ASSIs beyond low water mark." Originally notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, SSSIs have been renotified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which applies in England and Wales only, amends the SSSI provisions set out in the Wildlife and Countryside Act. In Scotland, consultation on a draft Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill (which includes provisions for improving the protection and management of SSSIs) ended in June 2003 |
