This major research programme aims to understand how the different types of estate owners and managers in upland Scotland make decisions that ensure that their estates fulfil their diverse roles while being 'sustainable'.
Integrating sustainable development into upland estate management presents a great challenge as estate activities encompass property and land management, agriculture and sport, forestry, as well as access, recreation and other community aspects.
Four integrated research projects are being carried out at the Centre for Mountain Studies between September 2007 and September 2010 in order to explore the concept of 'sustainable estate management'. Funded by the Henry Angest Foundation, the work will make a major contribution to our understanding of Scotland's upland economies, environments and communities.
Related key issues under examination are: the economic and employment benefits of estates to local communities; the motivations of private landowners; the role that landowners play in facilitating sustainable rural communities, and how actors in community organisations experience community landownership. A 'Sustainable Estates Toolkit' has also been developed in tandem with a representative panel of sustainability and estate managemnet professionals, researchers and policy-makers.
In more detail
One distinctive characteristic of Scotland’s upland areas is the significant proportion of the land in private ownership. A number are owned and managed primarily for field sports; others as businesses with diverse sets of income streams, from traditional primary sectors such as field sports, agriculture, and forestry through to tourism, renewable energy, property development and the provision of both affordable rural housing and public goods (e.g., biodiversity, recreation, watershed maintenance). While many of these estates are owner-occupied, a significant number have non-resident owners.
Estate ownership and management in modern day Scotland has undergone a transformation from past centuries, with an increasing spectrum of ownership types, changing estate management styles and objectives, and revolutionary legislation.
Notably in the last two decades, a number of estates have been purchased by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with conservation, recreation and/or sustainable development interests, for example the John Muir Trust and the RSPB.
More recently, and especially since the 2003 Land Reform (Scotland) Act, estates are also being bought by their local communities. This is one of many major policy changes affecting the land, people, and economy of the uplands of Scotland; and there are others, particularly with regard to subsidies and incentives for different land uses, often for public goods.
Strategic importance
Estates are highly characteristic of Scotland’s upland areas, and are bound up with the region’s culture, identity and environment (e.g., heather burning on grouse moors).
There are many strong opinions, both positive and negative, concerning all types of estates. In particular, statements are often made regarding their economic and employment benefits, whatever the ownership. This project will make a major contribution to our understanding of a key element of the region. There are few recent, integrated studies of estates, and most of them have tended to address only a few aspects (e.g., deer, forest management).
In political and policy terms, the project will feed into the Scottish Government's Sustainable Land Use Strategy and provide objective and independent research on the likely longer-term socio-economic and environmental impacts of the Land Reform Act.
The individual projects and project partners
Two of the dissertations focus on privately-owned estates:
- Landowner motivation and perceptions of sustainability; exploring visions for the future of the Scottish uplands (Pippa Wagstaff)
- The role of private landownership in facilitating sustainable rural communities in upland Scotland (Annie McKee)
One is studYing community-owned estates:
- A study of the experiences of internal and external actors in community-owned estate initiatives in Scotland (Rob Mc Morran)
The final project takes a broader approach to investigating sustainability in the context of upland estate management. This has led to the development of a 'Sustainable Estates Toolkit' in tandem with a panel of key stakeholders. The toolkit will be piloted on NGO-owned estates (Jayne Glass).
The dissertations are being supervised by Professor Martin Price, Director of the CMS, together with Dr Charles Warren (University of St. Andrews) and Dr Alister Scott (Birmingham City University).
To ensure the on-the-ground and policy relevance of the project, an Advisory Group oversees the project's progress at regular intervals. This group includes representatives from the Scottish Government, the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association (SRPBA), Scottish Environment LINK, Cairngorms National Park Authority and the Knoydart Trust.
Future plans
The project will conclude with a synthesis phase in 2010-2011 which will draw on the findings of the four dissertations and establish a coherent picture of Scottish upland estates. This will provide an important input to future well-founded public and private land use policy.