Site of Special Scientific Interest

For the Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hong Kong, see Site of Special Scientific Interest (Hong Kong).

A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic 'building block' of nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations are based upon them, including National Nature Reserves, Ramsar Sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation.

The process of designating a site as a Special Scientific Interest is called notification; itinvolves a number of steps, including consultation with the site's owner. If a site passes through this process and becomes a SSSI it is said to have been "notified". Sites which are notified due to their biological interest are commonly known as Biological SSSIs, and those which are notified for theit geological interest Geological SSSIs. A minority of sites are notified for both their biological and geological interest.

In selecting sites for SSSI status, English Nature, the designating body for SSSIs in England, uses the 1974-1996 county system, calling each county-like area an "Area of Search".

Legal status

The government has a power to designate as an SSSI any area of land which it considers to be of special interest by virtue of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features.

The designation can be made by English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council for Wales or the Environment and Heritage Service (Northern Ireland). In Northern Ireland some areas are designated as Areas Of Special Scientific Interest under the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, which is essentially the same as SSSI legislation. An SSSI is not necessarily open to the public, or owned by a conservation organisation or by the Government — in fact, they can be owned by anybody.

The current legal framework for SSSIs is provided by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, amended 1985, and the protection of SSSIs was enhanced by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.