Wester Ross Biosphere: Connecting People and Nature

Who is Wester Ross Biosphere?

Wester Ross Biosphere is a community-led UNESCO Biosphere in the Highlands of Scotland. It is a part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme, which began in 1976 and originally focused on conservation and research within protected areas.

Wester Ross was home to one of the first biospheres in the UK, originally based around a nature reserve. In the 2010s, it became clear that this biosphere was at risk of losing its UNESCO status. At the same time, UNESCO changed its approach, placing much greater emphasis also on people, communities, and sustainable living. In response, a grassroot, community-led movement began to explore whether keeping the designation could benefit the area.

Communities identified that being part of an international UNESCO network will help in attracting more sensitive and responsible visitors, and encouraging investment that aligns with local priorities. Many people felt that if the designation caused no harm and could bring positive opportunities, it was worth trying.

After a year of community consultation, Wester Ross was nominated to UNESCO in 2015 and officially designated as a biosphere again in 2016. The biosphere area was expanded to include local communities as well as natural sites, reflecting the modern biosphere model.

“A biosphere is not an award that suggests a place is already “perfect”. Instead, it shows a commitment to a long-term journey towards sustainability, for both people and nature” says Natasha Hutchison, general manager of Wester Ross Biosphere.

Biospheres can exist in many different settings. It can be urban areas, mountains, and coastal or marine environments, as long as people live there. What they all have in common is that they are places facing real challenges. In Wester Ross, these challenges include responding to the climate crisis and addressing population decline. The area has an ageing population, with more people moving in to retire, while younger people struggle to stay due to housing and employment pressures.

Wester Ross Biosphere is entirely community-led, which is rare within the global network of more than 700 UNESCO biospheres. It has no public agencies such as the Scottish Government or NatureScot on its board. Instead, it is governed by local people, with a local authority representative acting as a policy link rather than a funding source. Like most UNESCO sites in Scotland, it does not receive core funding.

To support its work, the organisation established a social enterprise in 2023 called Wester Ross Consulting. For several years, the organisation relied on short-term, project-based funding, which required frequent funding applications. The social enterprise model was developed to create a more sustainable income stream.

Wester Ross Consulting provides consultancy services focused on social acceptability. This includes community consultation, community-led planning, sustainable tourism, and support for developments that affect local people. The organisation acts as a bridge between communities, developers, researchers, and policymakers, helping to ensure that local voices are heard.

While its core focus is Wester Ross, the organisation also takes on work elsewhere in Scotland where projects align with its UNESCO mandate. They have worked with the University of Dundee on research into the impact of the just transition on women, particularly marginalised women. Income from this work is reinvested back into Wester Ross.

What is their social impact? 

Wester Ross Biosphere works across a large rural area of around 5,200 square kilometres, with approximately 8,000 full-time residents. Communities are small and widely spread, which can make it difficult for local people to influence decision-making. “In the Highlands and Islands, people feel like everything just happens to us, whether its wind farms, salmon farms, or patterns of land ownership, there is no meaningful dialogues with communities” says Natasha.  

One of the organisation’s key social impacts is collecting community voices and amplifying them. Through workshops, community consultations, and planning processes, Wester Ross Biosphere helps people share their views and priorities. This supports more inclusive and informed decisions about development, tourism, land use, and sustainability. Being a region which was quite overlooked in the past, now with the support from this organisation they can raise their voices at a national level, helping shape the regional policy for the better. 

Wester Ross Biosphere also plays an important role as a connector. It helps translate complex policy, academic research, and development proposals into accessible conversations, enabling communities to engage meaningfully. At the same time, it helps external organisations better understand local realities and concerns. Works have also been done around sustainable tourism focusing on visitor management. This work is guided by the principle that “happy places to visit must also first be happiest places to live,” ensuring that the local community remains at the heart of tourism. To further support the region’s cultural heritage, the Biosphere has a Gaelic officer who specialises in Gaelic development. This officer can help businesses to incorporate Gaelic into their everyday operations, providing practical advice on how to use the language effectively. 

The organisation is run by a small staff team of three, supported by a volunteer board made up of local, elected trustees. The board ensures that decisions are rooted in local experience and that the organisation remains accountable to the communities it serves. Despite limited capacitty the organisation’s social impact lies in empowering communities, improving participation, and ensuring that people living in Wester Ross are heard and included in shaping the future of their area.  “I think for us everything that we do is about the power of communities and our work is really to keep these communities sustainable” says Natasha Hutchison.