Areas of Special Scientific Interest

Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI ) provide statutory protection for the best examples of Northern Ireland's flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features. An ASSI designation may extend into intertidal areas, to the jurisdictional limit of local authorities - i.e. the mean low water mark in Northern Ireland. There is no provision for marine ASSIs beyond the mean low water mark. ASSIs were first designated under the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985: New ASSIs are designated under the Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002. The Order makes it an offence for anyone to intentionally or recklessly damage any natural feature of an ASSI. Ballyquintin Point, on 30 May 1995, was the first declared ASSI to be mapped using GIS: previous to this date all ASSI boundaries were defined on a hardcopy map. Legislative Context: Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. Environment (Northern Ireland) Order) 2002. Supplementary Information: The key ASSI Features for each site are detailed under the following 3 categories: Species (2 species fields are available to facilitate full descriptions), Habitat, Earth Science. Each site can have features in one or more of these categories.

特殊科学兴趣区（ASSI）对北爱尔兰最优的植物、动物、地质或地貌特征提供法定保护。ASSI的指定范围可能延伸至潮间带，直至地方当局的管辖极限——即北爱尔兰的平均低潮位。在平均低潮位之外，未对海洋ASSI作出规定。ASSI首次根据《北爱尔兰自然保护与休闲用地条例》（1985年）进行指定：新的ASSI指定则依据《北爱尔兰环境条例》（2002年）。该条例规定，任何人故意或疏忽损坏ASSI的任何自然特征均构成违法行为。1995年5月30日，巴利昆丁角成为首个使用地理信息系统（GIS）进行测绘的宣布为ASSI的区域：在此日期之前，所有ASSI边界均是在硬拷贝地图上定义的。立法背景：《北爱尔兰自然保护与休闲用地条例》（1985年）、《北爱尔兰环境条例》（2002年）。补充信息：每个地点的关键ASSI特征根据以下三个类别详细列出：物种（提供两个物种字段以方便完整描述）、生境、地球科学。每个地点可以在这些类别中的一个或多个中拥有特征。