West Lothian Biodiversity Action Plan: Oil Shale Bings
Abstract
This report establishes the importance of the West Lothian oil-shale bings at both a national (UK) and local (West Lothian) scale, for their
contribution to local biodiversity, their historical importance, their
education value, their social significance and their recreational function.
The bings are post-industrial spoil heaps, the result of retorting mineral oil
from deep-mined carboniferous shale beds at a time when Scotland was the major
oil producing nation in the world. They are a unique habitat, not found
elsewhere in Britain or Western Europe.
The bings are home to several nationally (UK) rare and protected plant and
animal species and are a major focus of identity in the local population.