30 x 30 Dissolved Protected Areas: Scotland's Land Conservation Sites for 2030 Target

A geospatial dataset of all terrestrial protected area sites contributing to Scotland's commitment to protect or conserve 30% of land by 2030. The data includes sites like SSSIs, SACs, SPAs, Ramsars, and NNRs, dissolved into a continuous layer and clipped to the national boundary. Protected areas are up to date as of 31 May 2024.

Use Cases

• Mapping the spatial coverage of protected land for Scotland's 30x30 target based on the dissolved layer.
• Analyzing overlaps and gaps in conservation designations based on the included SSSI, SAC, SPA, Ramsar, and NNR sites.
• Assessing progress towards the 2030 land protection goal based on the summarized, up-to-date protected areas.
• Conducting spatial analysis for land-use planning based on the boundary-clipped, continuous geospatial layer.

Strengths

• Data is up to date as of a specific date: 31 May 2024.
• Integrates multiple protected area designations (SSSIs, SACs, SPAs, Ramsars, NNRs) into a single layer.
• Data has been processed (dissolved and clipped to the national boundary) for analytical use.

Limitations

• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Purely geological SSSIs were excluded, which may affect certain geological analyses.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service via the eu_open_data platform.

Collection Method

Likely compiled and dissolved from official protected area registers by NatureScot.

Time Range

Snapshot as of 31 May 2024.

Freshness

Data is current as of 31 May 2024; update frequency is unknown.

Geography

Scotland (clipped to the national Boundary Line).