Mountain
Quality Indicators (MQIs) of Environment and Experience
The Munro Society's MQI project was started in 2003 with the purpose of performing
a 'health check' for Munros. Criteria were drawn up to measure the
environmental
status of the mountains. These allowed comparisons between individual
mountains, or of
different seasons and by different routes on the same mountain to be maintained. The features looked at in the
assessments
included access to the mountain, flora and fauna, drainage of the
mountain,
human influence (both past and present), degree of wildness and the
mountaineers’ responses to their day on the hill. Eight key areas of the mountain quality indicators have been selected. These are:
The Munro Society's MQI project was started in 2003 with the purpose of performing
a 'health check' for Munros. Criteria were drawn up to measure the
environmental
status of the mountains. These allowed comparisons between individual
mountains, or of
different seasons and by different routes on the same mountain to be maintained. The features looked at in the
assessments
included access to the mountain, flora and fauna, drainage of the
mountain,
human influence (both past and present), degree of wildness and the
mountaineers’ responses to their day on the hill. Eight key areas of the mountain quality indicators have been selected. These are:- Access
- Fauna
- Flora
- Drainage Pattern
- Past Human Influence (pre 1900)
- Recent Human Influence (post 1900)
- Degree of Wildness Experienced
- Degree of Aesthetic & Physical Response
Each MQI has several themes; for example in Flora (MQI No.3) these are:
The quality observed within each theme is judged against four levels.
Guidance on the themes and qualities at each MQI, indicating the specific features, can be downloaded here (pdf 68KB). All 8 MQIs must be assigned scores (1,2,3 or 4). Thus the maximum score for a mountain is 32 and the minimum is 8. Five examples of completed MQI reports can be downloaded from the margin on the left.
A Press Release on Phase 1 of the project, issued on October 16th 2009, can be viewed here and the full report on Phase 1 ordered here.
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A summary of the results to date can be obtained by downloading the pdf file of the MQI Progress Tracker here(38KB).
Society members who wish to complete MQIs on their trips to the hills can download a form in Microsoft Word 2003 format here (34KB). Completed forms can be sent back as attachments to e-mails to the contact here.
A. The flowering plants, including shrubs and trees
B. The non flowering plants, including mosses lichens and fungi
C. The extent to which natural regeneration is present.
B. The non flowering plants, including mosses lichens and fungi
C. The extent to which natural regeneration is present.
The quality observed within each theme is judged against four levels.
4 Very Good
3 Good strengths clearly outweigh minor weaknesses
2 Fair some strengths, also several weaknesses
1 Unsatisfactory major weaknesses
3 Good strengths clearly outweigh minor weaknesses
2 Fair some strengths, also several weaknesses
1 Unsatisfactory major weaknesses
Guidance on the themes and qualities at each MQI, indicating the specific features, can be downloaded here (pdf 68KB). All 8 MQIs must be assigned scores (1,2,3 or 4). Thus the maximum score for a mountain is 32 and the minimum is 8. Five examples of completed MQI reports can be downloaded from the margin on the left.
A Press Release on Phase 1 of the project, issued on October 16th 2009, can be viewed here and the full report on Phase 1 ordered here.
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Collating Outcomes and Reporting to the Society
A summary of the results to date can be obtained by downloading the pdf file of the MQI Progress Tracker here(38KB).
Society members who wish to complete MQIs on their trips to the hills can download a form in Microsoft Word 2003 format here (34KB). Completed forms can be sent back as attachments to e-mails to the contact here.
NB. Adobe® Acrobat® Reader software is required to download pdf forms on this page..
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader is a free utility that can be downloaded from Adobe here.
"Give
something back to the Mountains"