A ‘step change’ is needed to ensure Loch Lomond has a sustainable future, national park leaders said today.
A ‘conversation’ about the future of Scotland’s first national park got underway today with the publication of a new draft partnership plan.
Proposals include more tree planting, sustainable transport services, affordable housing for local people and a ‘nature first’ approach to development.
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park has started a 12-week consultation when residents, businesses, communities and visitors will be asked about their priorities for the future.
The authority’s convener Heather Reid (right) said: “Our national park matters to all of us, to Scotland and to the planet and we have a small window of opportunity to tackle these huge challenges and help the park flourish for future generations.
So we’re opening up a conversation to help us imagine the future of this National Park.
“It will mean doing things differently and doing much more of the positive things already underway – harnessing opportunities for new green jobs, affordable housing and sustainable transport, and supporting a shift in land use towards more regenerative, nature friendly management, while still producing timber, food and other benefits to the public.
“We also need to help our visitors enjoy the national park with less impacts on climate and nature.
“We don’t have all the answers but we do know this – change is happening regardless and our collective response to that change is the opportunity to provide a sustainable future for generations to come.”
The draft five-year plan puts forward a 2045 vision and a wide range of proposals, driven primarily by the scale and urgency of the nature and climate crises.
It also recognises the changes in how people live, work and visit the National Park in recent years, particularly post-Covid 19 and the challenges and opportunities this offers.
It focuses on three key areas:
- Restoring nature
- Creating a sustainable, low-carbon visitor destination
- Enabling a greener economy and sustainable living
- To capture and store more greenhouse gases, it is proposed that the pace and scale of peatland restoration and new woodland creation steps up considerably.
Proposals also set out where new habitats and networks for wildlife could be established to reverse the alarming decline in important species and features.
Low carbon local living, more affordable homes and opportunities for jobs and businesses in sectors such as sustainable travel, woodland creation and ecotourism are all proposed.
And with transport the single biggest source of emissions locally, the park authority is pushing for a step change in how transport services are provided to make lower emission travel to and within the park a more viable alternative and reduce the 79% of journeys currently made by car.
Park authority chief executive Gordon Watson said: “The time to act is now and that action needs to be bold.
“This draft plan lays out the actions we are proposing for the next five years to achieve the transformational long-term change our National Park needs but this needs to be a collective plan, a shared vision.
“We all have an opportunity to shape the change that’s coming for our national park and we want to hear about people’s experiences, barriers and their ideas for the future of the national park, whether that’s a family living in one of our communities, a farmer looking to diversify their activities or a visitor keen to help protect this special place.
“We can’t do this alone but collectively we can help shape the significant required to ensure the national park’s people and places continue to thrive and that its natural assets can contribute significantly to Scotland’s efforts to restore nature, tackle climate change and have greener economic growth.”
To take part in the conversation about the future of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, visit www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/future
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