Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

11.3.3 Stakeholders
‘Stakeholders’ are those who have a key stake in a project, or play an integral role
in fen management. They may influence, provide funding, already make use of a
fen, or be interested in doing so. Neighbours are usually key stakeholders, but
stakeholders might also include existing and potential visitors and members of the
local community, as well as the owner(s) of the fen, statutory agencies and funders.
11.4 Limitations on involving people with fens
True fen habitat is typically fragile and susceptible to damage. Scrub, reeds and
other vegetation may make access difficult, and little may be visible from within the
fen. Deep peat and boggy areas can also be dangerous for those unfamiliar with
such conditions. Health and safety is therefore a key issue, but not only because of
statutory obligations. If we want people to care about fens, we must equally take
care of people who visit them.
Health and safety considerations involving people with fens
– Consider and build in health and safety from the start, including
a detailed risk assessment, which should be reviewed at regular
intervals. The Health and Safety Executive can provide further
guidance to help you identify hazards and decide what precautions
are required.
– Remember to take account of the health and safety requirements
of neighbours and people over than visitors – e.g. adjacent landowners,
contractors, graziers, volunteers etc.
– Attempts to overcompensate will damage both the habitat and the
visitor experience.
11.5 Visitor surveys and monitoring
Management for People (Scottish Natural Heritage 2004) suggests five steps
critical to sustainable visitor management:
– Involving and communicating with people
– Planning and setting objectives
– Visitor care and welfare
– Monitoring
– Analysis and assessment
Knowing how many visitors a fen attracts, or forecasting how many visitors a fen
might attract in future, is important in deciding on the level of effort and resources
worth investing, and in designing appropriate paths and interpretation. Varying
trends in visitor numbers can help flag up early warnings about potential impacts
from visitor pressure and guide longer-term sustainable management. Reliable
estimates of visitor numbers, based on surveys, monitoring and other data, are
usually essential when applying for external funding for fen management, and
can help establish links between fens and local businesses. Automated counters
are now relatively cheaply available, designed to withstand moderate or extreme
weather and vandalism, ideal for use in visitor centres, or at entry/exit/pinch points
on the fen.
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