51. Often the most dramatic and stunning landscape that adventure sport events want to access are also the most heavily protected and conserved. Whilst this is rarely a complete barrier to access, organisers have a responsibility to understand what environmental impacts their event may cause and to ensure that these are mitigated as much as possible.
52. Designated uplands areas, such as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and/or a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) are legally protected and may require special consent from an authority such as Natural England (England), Natural Resources Wales (Wales) or Nature Scotland (Scotland). Because the landowner remains liable and answerable to these organisations for any damage caused by an event on their land, it is sometimes only the landowner that these organisations will deal with to grant consent.
53. Often only simple measures are needed. These include avoiding certain fragile areas, strict adherence to a particular route or, conversely, wide dispersal of participants.
54. Larger events should seek expert advice from an ecologist and may need to prepare documentation such as an Ecological Risk Assessment, Pollution Incident Response Plan and/or a Water Protection Plan.
55. Smaller events are likely to be guided by the landowner’s preference and instructions.