{"id":9851,"date":"2013-11-10T20:08:26","date_gmt":"2013-11-10T20:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=9851"},"modified":"2013-11-10T20:20:43","modified_gmt":"2013-11-10T20:20:43","slug":"mountaineering-council-urges-msps-to-protect-wild-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/mountaineering-council-urges-msps-to-protect-wild-land\/","title":{"rendered":"Mountaineering Council urges MSPs to protect wild land"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members of the Scottish Parliament are being sent a leaflet from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) reminding them of the huge benefits of Scotland's mountains. The leaflet challenges them to balance the need for green power with the need to safeguard a hugely valuable but finite and vulnerable resource.
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\n\u201cTo some the term \u2018wild land\u2019 just translates as emptiness \u2013 something without any value,\u201d says MCofS Director of Landscape and Access Dave Gordon.
\n\u201cScotland\u2019s mountains are very far from being without value: they are among our greatest assets. But our uplands are also incredibly vulnerable.
\n\u201cOur mountains and wild land are internationally recognised and a major factor in attracting tourism and supporting rural employment, as well as being a home for wildlife and key part of our cultural heritage. However, Scotland is a small country and the area of the land unaffected by the visual impact of built development has already shrunk by a third in less than a decade. The unceasing pressure from wind farm developers on our mountains threatens to squander a large part of this precious asset within the next decade.\u201d<\/p>\n

The MCofS, which is the representative body for Scottish mountaineers and hill walkers, with nearly 12,000 members, is calling on MSPs and the Scottish Government to act for the future by following a five-point plan.<\/p>\n