The way that we use the land underpins much of our lives and the ways that we experience the places around us. How Scotland’s land is owned, used and managed is not only central to the economy and the natural environment, but it is key to the wellbeing of individuals and communities.
Land use planning is especially important when it comes to tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The ways that we farm, where we build our towns, and how we manage our natural resources all have profound impacts for wildlife and for greenhouse gas emissions. In order to make the progress necessary to achieve net zero by 2045 and meet our nature restoration targets, we need to change the way we use land in Scotland.
With so many interests to balance, the Scottish Government produces a Land Use Strategy (now in its third edition) to outline high-level principles and a long-term vision for sustainable land use. Transferring this ambition to action on the ground isn’t easy, and this is where Regional Land Use Partnerships, or ‘RLUPs’, come in.
RLUPs were intended to bring together the relevant stakeholders within a region to work in partnership to optimise land use in a fair and inclusive way. These partnerships included representatives from local and national government, communities, landowners, land managers and other stakeholders who would help shape land use decisions in light of the principles and objectives of the Land Use Strategy. Through collaboration, it was hoped that these partnerships would develop a framework for land use that would meet both local and national objectives and support Scotland’s transition to net zero by 2045.
To ensure their effectiveness, the Scottish Government launched a series of pilot projects before committing to coverage across Scotland by the end of the next Parliament. Two pilots (initially called ‘land use strategy pilots’) ran between 2013-15, followed by a further five pilots with expanded remits between 2021-23.
With the pilots now complete, the question is: where do we go from here?
To help review the success of RLUPs and consider the future of strategic land use planning in Scotland, Scottish Environment LINK’s Land Use & Reform Group commissioned a report by Brady Stevens of SAC Consulting.
This new report emphasises the potential for Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs), which, if given the necessary support, it sees as a fit-for-purpose model for future land use planning. The report also highlights a series of recommendations for the Scottish Government that could enable Regional Land Use Partnerships to achieve significantly greater impacts. These include, among others, a recommitment from the Scottish Government to the model, the rollout of RLUPs across Scotland, and the provision of appropriate resources to these partnerships.
Importantly, the report argues that Scotland already has the basis of the infrastructure needed to deliver its environmental objectives as part of a strategic approach to land use, and there would be considerable benefits in strengthening the ability of RLUPs to influence decision-making around land use, particularly in relation to public and private investment in nature.
As the report notes, “the most expedient route to impact does not involve reinventing the wheel. The key need is for people who are enabled to act as connectors, joining national targets and existing resources with local groups who have the skills and connections to get the work done.”
You can see the full list of recommendations and read the report in full here.
Top image credit: Sandra Graham