text: NatureScot publishes a summary of the SSSI arrangements for SSSI owners and occupiers (other than public bodies) which can be downloaded from its website. Legal documents for all SSSIs in Scotland are available on the SSSI Register, hosted by The Registers of Scotland. Further information about SSSIs in Scotland is available on the NatureScot website.
  The decision to notify an SSSI is made by the relevant nature conservation body (the appropriate conservation body) for that part of the United Kingdom: Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Natural England, NatureScot or Natural Resources Wales. SSSIs were originally set up by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, but the current legal framework for SSSIs is provided in England and Wales by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, amended in 1985 and further substantially amended in 2000 (by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000), in Scotland by the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 and in Northern Ireland by the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. SSSIs are also covered under the Water Resources Act 1991 and related legislation.
  An SSSI may be made on any area of land which is considered to be of special interest by virtue of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical / geomorphological features.