Area of ​​Outstanding Natural Beauty

Map of all Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (as of 2008)

The Area of ​​Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONB ; German  " Area of ​​extraordinary natural beauty " ) refers to rural areas in England , Wales and Northern Ireland that are under special protection . The main purpose of being classified as AONB is to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the landscape, taking into account the needs of the local population. In order to achieve these goals, the AONB umbrella organization monitors compliance with special planning regulations and maintains the landscape .

AONB can be compared to the national parks in England and Wales. They have a common legal basis, the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (Act on National Parks and Access to the Countryside ). In contrast to the national parks, however, the AONB do not have their own supervisory authorities and are not legal entities that can issue special ordinances to prevent undesirable developments. The influence of the AONB on the local administrative authorities is minimal. To increase influence, the government issued the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 , but it has not yet been fully implemented. With this law, the AONB should have the same say in planning issues as national parks.

There are 36 AONBs in England, four in Wales, eight in Northern Ireland and one that crosses the Anglo-Welsh border. The extent of the AONB varies greatly, the smallest being the Isles of Scilly with an area of ​​16 km², the largest being the Cotswolds with 2038 km². The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 has no legal force in Scotland . There are National Scenic Areas (NSA), which have a different legal basis and are under the supervision of the state authority Scottish Natural Heritage .

AONB and NSA, like the national parks, fall into Category V of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN); they are comparable to the landscape protection areas in Germany, Austria and Switzerland .

List of AONB

England

Arnside and Silverdale Blackdown Hills Cannock Chase AONB Chichester Harbor Chiltern Hills Cornwall AONB Bodmin Moor Cotswolds Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Dedham Vale Dorset AONB East Devon AONB East Hampshire AONB

Forest of Bowland High Weald Howardian Hills Isle of Wight AONB Isles of Scilly Kent Downs Lincolnshire Wolds Malvern Hills Mendip Hills Nidderdale Norfolk Coast North Devon AONB

North Pennines Northumberland Coast North Wessex Downs Quantock Hills Shropshire Hills Solway Coast South Devon South Hampshire Coast Suffolk Coast and Heaths Surrey Hills South Downs Tamar Valley Wye Valley

Wales

• Anglesey
• Clwydian Range
• Moel Famau
• Gower Peninsula
• Lleyn Peninsula
• Wye Valley

Northern Ireland

• Antrim Coast and Glens
• Binevenagh
• Causeway Coast
• Lecale Coast
• Morne Mountains
• Ring of Gullion
• Sperrin Mountains
• Strangford and Lecale

Web links

Commons : Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• National Association of AONBs (English)
• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Northern Ireland on its Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Adrian Phillips: Management Guidelines for IUCN Category V Protected Areas. Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No. 9, published in 2002 by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), p. 22. Digital version , PDF file, 738 kB, accessed on August 10, 2018 (English)