St Kilda

St Kilda

St. Kilda is a volcanic archipelago to the west of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides islands and is a prime example of natural heritage. During the height of the breeding season the archipelago is home to nearly one million seabirds. The size and diversity of the birds, including the high volume of gannets and the unique presence of the St. Kilda Wren – native to the archipelago – makes it a seabird sanctuary of global importance and one without parallel in Europe. The islands also contain tangible cultural heritage – remnants of the previous inhabitants - such as unique storage huts known as “Cleits”. Climate change is a significant threat to the biodiversity of the archipelago with rising sea surface temperatures having a negative impact on its marine ecosystem and the colonies of birds that breed there. This may be observed through the migratory Kittiwake seabird of which there has been an 89% decline in population over the period 1999-2015 - reflective of the wider fall in seabird populations on the archipelago. Climate change is likely to magnify the impact of storms and droughts which will have substantial adverse effects on the natural and cultural heritage of the islands.

is51102023

Naveen

Site

716

02/05/2023

The National Trust for Scotland (2022) St Kilda World Heritage Site Management Plan 2022-2032 [Online], Available at https://ntswebstorage01.blob.core.windows.net/nts-web-assets-production/downloads/English-St-Kilda-World-Heritage-Site-Management-Plan-2022-2032.pdf (Accessed 2nd May 2023).

cm x cm x cm

current,57.81342396698144,-8.568137892775407;

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS)

St Kilda

https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/st-kilda

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Place Name

1488

public

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS)

1

ns248@st-andrews.ac.uk