Geological sample collecting: codes and guidance

‘Geological samples’ includes rock, fossil and mineral specimens, and also samples of any other natural lithified or soil substrate such as coal, sand, gravel, mud or peat. Collecting and removing geological samples from a protected site will, to varying degree, reduce the extent of the site feature, unless the material removed is entirely unrelated to the feature (e.g. removing mud or soil where the feature only comprises rock). Removing geological samples may also reduce the overall visibility of features, and therefore reduce their value, by removing or defacing visually significant parts of value to interpretation. Therefore geological sample collecting can cause damage, reducing the value for which the site was selected.

Outside protected sites, geological sample collecting can similarly reduce the value of our geoheritage by removing or defacing material of geoheritage value, including material of scientific and educational value.

Best practice codes and guidance to minimise damage from geological sample collecting have been produced by various organisations and are listed below:

Geological Sample Collecting and the law

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are acting within the law at all times.

The Scottish Outdoor Access Code

Guidance: You are acting within the law if you obtain permission from the landowner to access land to collect geological samples.

Legal context: There is no right under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (as set out in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code) to access land to remove ‘minerals’ (the legal term that covers geological materials including rocks, fossils, minerals, sands, gravels, coal and soil). Therefore accessing land to collect geological samples is not included in access rights.

Mineral rights ownership

Guidance: You are acting within the law if you obtain the permission of the mineral rights owner to remove geological samples. Note that the mineral rights owner is often also the landowner.

Legal context: All ‘minerals’ (the legal term that covers geological materials including rocks, fossils, minerals, sands, gravels, coal and soil) are the property of the person who owns the mineral rights for the land on, or under which, they occur. Removal of property without the owner’s consent is theft. Therefore, a mineral rights owner is within their rights to press charges of theft if geological samples are removed without their consent.

Nature conservation laws

Guidance: You are acting within the law if you obtain consent from NatureScot (the operating name of Scottish Natural Heritage) to collect geological samples from a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and your activities do not contravene any condition of the consent.

Legal context: Intentional or reckless damage to any protected feature of a SSSI is an offence under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. This includes both geological and biological features of SSSIs. Police Scotland refer to the offence as a ‘Wildlife crime’ for damage to geological features as well as for damage to biological features.

Areas within SSSIs where protected geological features occur, are defined by Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites. Each GCR site represents a single geological or geomorphological interest that forms part or all of a specific protected feature in that SSSI. Removal of geological samples from in situ material (e.g. by hammering or other excavation) from any area where a protected geological feature occurs (i.e. a GCR site), will in most cases damage the protected SSSI feature. In addition, for sites where the feature specifically includes loose geological material, such as mine waste, spoil, sand and gravel, removal of geological samples of this loose material will in most cases also damage the protected SSSI feature. Protected biological SSSI features may also be damaged by, for example, accessing a site to collect geological samples at certain times of the year, clearing or trampling vegetation, or disturbing substrate such as rock, sand, gravel or soil while collecting geological samples.

Geological sample collecting in SSSIs for scientific research

Conserving scientific value (the scientific value equation for geological SSSIs): The scientific value of a geological SSSI is the sum of the existing scientific data from the site, and the potential scientific information remaining within the site. Removing geological samples decreases the store of information remaining, and would usually be considered irreversible damage to the SSSI feature. However, in some circumstances the loss of resource may be off-set by the scientific information gained from the samples taken, allowing an overall assessment of no loss of scientific value for the SSSI.

Guidance: If you wish to collect geological samples from a SSSI in Scotland for scientific research, further information, including how to apply to NatureScot for SSSI consent, can be found here: www.nature.scot/doc/guidance-collecting-geological-samples-sites-special-scientific-interest-scotland