Tavish Scott: Geology rocks and we have some of the best

SCOTLAND is a wee country with the best rocks in the world. Surprisingly Scotsman readers may not appreciate this as it is the basis of Scotland’s Geodiversity Charter launched this week. Does what we walk on matter?

Unst is the most northerly island in Scotland. It has rock structures to dream about if you are a geologist which is why successive years of university students camped in wild places through the summer holidays to study them. A student taking geology is tomorrow’s oil and gas company executive making decisions about rock strata 3,000 metres under the North Sea. As Total’s recent Elgin Franklin episode showed the importance of brilliant scientists interpreting complex data using incredibly intelligent real-time 3D models was at the heart of stopping leaking gas. If shale gas is to be extracted in the UK as trials have been run near Blackpool then geologists will be at the heart of the scientific assessment. In other words, geodiversity is about the economy and jobs.

But it is a whole lot more than that. Staffa’s Fingal’s Cave is an extraordinary feature of the west coast. The fossil remains of dinosaur footprints at Trotternish in Skye are now a major tourist attraction. People walk and climb to be somewhere inaccessible and remote. There is little to compare with either the Cuillin of Skye or the Cairngorm massif. As with Arthur’s Seat in the Capital, these rocks are some of the oldest in Europe.

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Consider too the location of many of Scotland’s most iconic castles. They were placed on rocky outcrops or dramatic promontories for many good military reasons. Today they sell and in many ways define why Scotland is such an attractive country to visit. But Edinburgh, Stirling or Eilean Donan are all the more dramatic because of where they are and what they are built on.

This week, Angus Miller the driving force behind the Scottish Geodiversity Charter presented a chunk of Shetland granite to Stewart Stevenson, the minister responsible for rocks, at its launch.

The Scottish Government, Scottish Natural Heritage and many other bodies are right to be promoting the nation’s geodiversity. This charter is about encouraging the public sector to work with the private sector to integrate geodiversity into policy, decision making and guidance to deliver sustainable management of land and water across Scotland.

Back at home in Shetland we are a Geopark. There are three across Scotland, modelled on the great work being done in France and other European countries. This status can be good for jobs, tourism and above all local people. Soon there is to be an App. Your smart phone will direct you to 40 sites across Shetland alone with a geological theme. This is outdoors, healthy and about the land and sea we live around. Get on board. This is fun even if the mobile phone signal does fail.

• Tavish Scott is the Liberal Democrat MSP for Shetland