A site of special scientific interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an area of special scientific interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I".
The Countryside Council for Wales was a Welsh Assembly sponsored body responsible for wildlife conservation, landscape and countryside access authority of Wales.
The national parks of Wales are managed areas of outstanding landscape in Wales, United Kingdom where some forms of development are restricted to preserve the landscape and natural environment. Together, they cover 20% of the land surface of Wales and have a resident population of over 80,000 people. Each National Park Authority is a free-standing body within the local government framework. At present, Wales has three national parks: Snowdonia, created in 1951, Pembrokeshire Coast (1952) and Brecon Beacons National Park (1957), and five areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), which together form the Protected areas of Wales. One of the AONBs, the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley has been proposed to be Wales' fourth national park.
Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve is a national nature reserve (NNR) which straddles the border between England and Wales, near Whixall and Ellesmere in Shropshire, England and Bettisfield in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It comprises three peat bogs, Bettisfield Moss, Fenn's Moss and Whixall Moss. With Wem Moss and Cadney Moss, they are collectively a Site of Special Scientific Interest called The Fenn's, Whixall, Bettisfield, Wem & Cadney Moss Complex and form Britain's third-largest lowland raised bog, covering 2,388 acres (966 ha). The reserve is part of the Midland Meres and Mosses, an Important Plant Area which was declared a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1997. It is also a European Special Area of Conservation.
Stockgrove Country Park is located in England on the Bedfordshire/Buckinghamshire border in the parish of Heath and Reach. Stockgrove Park's 80 acres is part of the larger 400 acre woods called Rushmere Country Park, managed by the Greensand Trust. The Greensand Trust manages this area comprising Rushmere, Stockgrove, Oak Wood and Rammamere and parts of Kings Wood. Stockgrove was opened to the public in 1972 and Rushmere is the newest addition to the Estate, opened in 2011. The largest of the lakes features the remains of a boathouse that burned down in 1963 – only its brick arches are left. Mandarin ducks took up residence in 1997 and have bred there ever since. The park is partly in the Kings and Bakers Woods and Heaths Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Hanmer is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. At the 2001 Census the population of the Hanmer community area, which includes Hanmer village itself, Horseman's Green, Halghton and Arowry along with a number of small hamlets, was recorded at 726, reducing to 665 at the 2011 Census.
Llangorse Lake is the largest natural lake in Mid and South Wales, and is situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park, near the town of Brecon and the village of Llangors.
Llangathen is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The population taken at the 2011 census was 507.
Llyn Eiddwen is a lake and site of special scientific interest near Trefenter in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the source of the River Aeron.
Silian, originally Sulien, is a village in the valley of the River Teifi, Ceredigion, Wales. It is located approximately two miles north-west of Lampeter, on a minor road connecting Pont Creuddun on the A482, and Glan Denys on the A485.
Bishops Pond is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying adjacent to the former palace of the Bishop of St Davids. The pond is an oxbow lake, formed when a meander of the River Tywi got cut off from the main river. The water level is topped up in winter as the river floods the valley floor, and the level drops in summer. The pond exhibits a natural succession from lake through swamp to marsh, and will eventually become meadow; this happens because aquatic plants clog the water and there is a gradual build up of organic detritus.
Cynffig/Kenfig is a Site of Special Scientific Interest which includes Kenfig Sands and its sand dunes near Kenfig in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. The Kenfig National Nature Reserve is also situated at the site and contains the largest lake in Glamorgan, Kenfig Pool.
Wales, a country that is part of the United Kingdom, contains protected areas under various designations. The largest designation by land area is Wales' three national parks, followed by the five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Dowrog Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since January 1954 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological elements. The site has an area of 0.18 hectares and is managed by The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales.
Dwrhyd Pit is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since January 1957 in an attempt to protect its fragile geological elements. The site has an area of 0.18 hectares and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.
Henborth is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Anglesey, North Wales. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since October 1989 in an attempt to protect its fragile geological elements. The site has an area of 10.96 hectares and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.
Llyn Bodgylched is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Anglesey, North Wales, to the west of Beaumaris. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since January 1968 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological elements, mainly a swamp. The site has an area of 16.37 hectares and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.
Halghton is a dispersed settlement and former civil parish in the east of Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is part of the community of Hanmer.
