Shetland Designations
Built Heritage
In 2023 Shetland had 1 historic marine protected area, 337 listed buildings, 392 scheduled monuments and 4 designated gardens and landscapes located throughout the isles. There was also a total of 9,945 sites and monuments in the Historic Environment Record.
Nature
Shetland is a designated UNESCO Global Geopark, has 2 National Nature Reserves and 78 Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
In terms of Special Protection Areas there are:
- 12 designated under EC Birds Directive
- 3 Marine Environment
- 2 Nature Conservation Marine
- 12 designated as Special Areas of Conservation under the EC Habitats Directive
In total, 13.5% of the total area of Shetland is covered by statutory conservation sites. Shetland is also a key site for many species bird and mammals, with Shetland estimated to have up to 95% of the UK population of some bird species.