The Future for National Parks in Scotland

Overview

It is almost 20 years since Scotland’s first National Parks  in Loch Lomond and Trossachs and Cairngorms were established.  Both National Parks are home to some of Scotland’s most outstanding scenery, are internationally important areas for nature and receive millions of visitors each year.  The Parks work closely with their communities, land managers, local businesses, third sector and individuals to tackle the biodiversity and climate crisis, to help manage facilities for visitors, to promote responsible access, develop sustainable communities and ensure sustainable development.

The current Programme for Government contains a commitment to establish at least one new National Park in Scotland by Spring 2026.  To be able to do this in an open and transparent manner, we need to be able to assess any area which is put forward for designation against a set of agreed expectations for what National Parks will deliver for Scotland going forward.  This is where we need your help and ideas.

Find out more about the work of Scotland’s existing national parks at: Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and the Cairngorms. Information on National Parks more generally and the designation of Scotland’s first two national parks is available from NatureScot's website.

Our ask of you

1. What do you value most about Scotland's National Parks?
2. How can National Parks help the environment?
3. How can we better manage visitor pressures in National Parks?
4. What criteria should we use to decide where the next new National Parks in Scotland should be?

How to take part

This activity is taking place on Scottish Government's crowdsourcing platform called Dialogue. The link at the bottom of this page will take you there. Once there:

• you first need to register to add an idea or comment 
• start by taking a look at existing ideas – you can order by those with the highest rating or most comments
• if you have a new idea that isn’t already on the site, click Add Idea to submit it
• if you see an idea you could add to, or want to comment on, simple click on it to open the thread and add your comment

If you have any problems registering, logging in or using the site please contact DigitalEngagement@gov.scot - we will be available Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.