Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) were identified as areas of the countryside where the landscape, wildlife or historic interest is of national importance and where these environmental features can be affected by farming operations. Features such as hedges, walls, ditches, field barns, hay meadows, heather moorland and river valley grasslands have been created by traditional farming methods over hundreds of years and are highly valued, both for their scenic beauty and for the habitats they provide for plants and wildlife. The ESA Scheme was designed to promote agriculture practices which have helped create these distinctive landscapes and have contributed to the maintenance of wildlife habitats or historic features. Introduced in 1987, the scheme formed part of the Scottish Agri-Environment Programme which was required to meet the UK Government's obligations under the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). The scheme allowed farmers and crofters within designated areas to have access to payments to sustain or adopt environmentally-friendly farming practices. Participation by farmers and crofters in the Scheme was voluntary. The scheme is no longer active and has been superseded by the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) of the Scottish Rural Development Programme. It should be noted that ESAs are not a national landscape and/or nature conservation designation. ESAs have no planning status and therefore cannot be used as a reason for refusing planning applications.
