Lairds, Land and Sustainability: Scottish Perspectives on Upland Management
Lairds, Land and Sustainability: Scottish Perspectives on Upland Management
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Overview
In recent decades, the Scottish uplands have increasingly been the arena for passionate debates over large-scale land management issues. Crucially, what kinds of ownership and management will best deliver sustainable futures for upland environments and communities?
Although the globally unique dominance of private ownership remains a distinctive characteristic of Scotland's uplands, increasing numbers of estates are now owned by environmental NGOs and local communities, especially since the Land Reform (Scotland) Act of 2003. A decade after the passage of this landmark Act, this book synthesises research carried out on a diverse range of upland estates by the Centre for Mountain Studies at Perth College, University of the Highlands and Islands. The findings from privately-owned estates as well as those owned by communities, charities and conservation groups will prove enlightening and relevant to upland managers, policy makers, and researchers across Britain and Europe.
With the Scottish Government promoting a vision of environmental sustainability, and with the new diversity of ownerships and management now appearing, this timely and topical book investigates the implications of these different types of land ownership for sustainable upland management.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780748685899 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Edinburgh University Press |
| Publication date: | 06/30/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Preface ix
List of acronyms xi
List of tables xii
List of figures xiii
List of boxes xiv
Notes on the contributors xvii
Part 1 Sustainability in the uplands
Chapter 1 Sustainability in the uplands: introducing key concepts 3
Introduction 3
The focus of this book 4
Defining uplands 6
Human dimensions of change in upland regions 9
What does a sustainability agenda imply for the governance of upland areas? 11
What can we learn from collaborative, landscape-scale approaches to upland governance? 14
Why should we afford more attention to property rights? 17
Unpacking private and common property rights 18
Land reform and a 'community ownership' turn? 20
Contemporary property rights in the Scottish uplands: a brief overview 22
Conclusion 23
Notes 25
References 25
Chapter 2 Recognising Scotland's upland ecosystem services 32
Introduction 32
From sectoral to integrated approaches to managing UK uplands 34
Recognising ecosystem services with upland managers in mind 38
From 'traditional' to 'consumptive' enterprises: provisioning services 38
Upland agriculture: a less favoured enterprise? 39
Towards sustainable forest management and renewable energy provision 40
Experiencing uplands: cultural services 42
Upland biodiversity: habitats that span landscapes 43
Upland recreation: a growing industry 44
Field sports and game management 45
What role for climate-change mitigation and risk management? 48
Upland communities and economies 49
What are the lessons for sustainable governance? 50
Notes 52
References 52
Part 2 Perspectives from private landownership
Chapter 3 The Scottish private estate 63
Introduction 53
The rise of the sporting estate 53
The current dominance of private landownership 65
Absentee and foreign ownership 66
Twenty-first-century land reform 68
Impacts of land reform on private landownership 70
The contemporary privately owned estate 74
Conclusion 79
Notes 81
References 81
Chapter 4 What motivates private landowners? 86
Introduction 86
Landowners' motivations and attitudes 86
Investigating owners' priorities on selected estates 87
The priorities and motivations of private landowners 90
Investigating estate economics 93
The estate's natural heritage 99
The social implications of private landownership 101
The impact of motivation on landowner decisions 104
Notes 106
References 106
Chapter 5 The laird and the community 108
Introduction 108
Exploring interactions between landowners and communities 109
Identifying key issues 112
Housing 112
Employment 113
Community spirit and cohesion 115
The role of the landowner in addressing community issues 116
Housing provision and development 116
Developing employment opportunities 119
Players, processes and policy: the potential for private landowner and estate community partnerships 123
Breaking down traditional hierarchies 123
Positive communication and the 'face' of the estate 124
Proactive involvement 125
Resource and skill limitations 126
Disconnection, a pathy and uncertainty 127
Inequality and power relations 129
Implications for policy and practice 131
Notes 133
References 134
Part 3 Perspectives from community and NGO landownership
Chapter 6 Community landownership: rediscovering the road to sustainability 139
Introduction 139
The emergence of communal land tenure in Scotland 139
Community landownership - panacea or Pandora's Box for sustainability? 140
Exploring sustainability on Europe's western edge 144
Methodology: capturing different narratives of community ownership 145
Impacts and processes of community landownership - narratives of experience 146
Narratives of sustainable rural development 146
Theme 1: Community capacity (re-)building 146
Theme 2: Redefining participatory governance and collaborative working 150
The role of local leadership and communication in managing conflict 152
Theme 3: Building a framework for economic development 154
Theme 4: Reconfiguring community-natural resource relationships 161
Discussion 165
Moving towards a sustainable future 165
Investing in social capital 166
Managing conflict 167
Economic challenges and the importance of the community asset base 168
Reconstructing sustainability 169
References 170
Chapter 7 Buying nature: a review of environmental NGO landownership 173
Introduction 173
Environmental NGOs - the wider context 174
The rise of conservation NGO landownership in Scotland 175
Environmental NGO landowners - part of a sustainable future for Scotland? 178
Species and habitat conservation 178
Landscape protection and enhancement 181
Socioeconomic benefits and impacts 182
Collaborative working 184
Discussion - NGO landownership in twenty-first-century Scotland 184
Notes 185
References 185
Part 4 Aligning upland estate management with sustainability
Chapter 8 A sustainability tool for the owners and managers of upland estates 191
Introduction 191
Defining sustainability principles for upland estates 192
Sustainability indicators and the importance of participation 192
Developing a sustainability tool 193
Input from a range of stakeholders 194
A collective thought process 194
Perceptions and principles of sustainability in estate management 196
The tool in detail 197
Sustainability Principle 1 Adapting management 201
Sustainability Principle 2 Broadening options 203
Sustainability Principle 3 Ecosystem thinking 203
Sustainability Principle 4 Linking into social fabric 207
Sustainability Principle 5 Thinking beyond the estate 208
Using the tool on the ground 212
Moving forwards 213
Notes 214
References 214
Chapter 9 Lessons for sustainable upland management 218
Introduction 218
Key outcomes from the research: aligning upland estate management with sustainability 219
A proactive estate is a sustainable estate 219
The importance of taking a long-term approach in estate planning 220
The importance of connectivity 222
The multifunctional roles of estates 223
The virtuous circle of community engagement and collaboration 224
Looking ahead: implications for policy, practice and future research 227
Conclusions 229
Notes 230
References 231
Index 234