Suchergebnisse

Remote mountain landscapes characterise interpretations of Scotland both within and beyond Scotland, and represent a fundamental draw for visitors. It is thus no surprise that 'wild land' has risen up the political agenda since the early 1980s, starting with the emergence of charities such as the Scottish Wild Land Group and John Muir Trust in response to concerns about proposed developments in mountain areas. Recognition of the importance of wild land has increased since, with recent surveys evidencing a high level of public support for its protection. In 2002, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) defined wild land as "limited core areas of mountain and moorland and remote coast, which mostly lie beyond contemporary human artefacts such as roads or other development", but protecting wild land has proved difficult, due to a lack of clarity regarding where it is and the legal basis for its protection.

This report - Part 1: Socio-economic impacts of moorland activities in Scotland is part of a larger, multipart study commissioned by the Scottish Government to Assess Socioeconomic and Biodiversity Impacts of Driven Grouse Moors and to understand the Rights of Gamekeepers. 3. The key objectives which Part 1 of this Phase 2 research aimed to address were to: i) Examine the extent and impact of economic connections between grouse shooting estates and surrounding businesses and communities; and ii) Evaluate the socioeconomic impacts of alternative land uses for moorland and how they compare against land used for grouse shooting.

LEADER is the European Union's place-based, participatory and bottom-up approach to rural development. It is based on a set of seven core principles, which have remained unchanged over time: - area-based local development strategies; - a bottom-up approach; - public-private partnerships; - facilitating innovation; - integrated and multi-sectoral actions; - networking; and - co-operation. LEADER has been delivered in rural Scotland since 1991. This research, commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by a team from SRUC's Rural Policy Centre, reviews the achievements of LEADER in Scotland over time to explore its legacy and the key factors which have contributed to the impacts that it has had.

This report - Part 2. The Employment Rights of Gamekeepers - is part of a larger, multipart study commissioned by the Scottish Government to Assess Socioeconomic and Biodiversity Impacts of Driven Grouse Moors and to understand the Rights of Gamekeepers. The report delivers to a Scottish Government commitment to undertake "work in relation to protecting gamekeepers' employment and other rights", this report provides evidence on the working lives and employment rights and benefits of gamekeepers, stalkers and ghillies across Scotland, with key findings specific to the driven grouse sector drawn out where appropriate.

Concern about who owns Scotland, and how much of it they own, has been central to the land reform debate for decades. While many people are utterly convinced that landownership is a key determinant of rural development outcomes, others insist it is irrelevant, and what is important is how land is managed. The Scottish Government wants to create a more diverse pattern of land ownership and asked the Scottish Land Commission to investigate the issues associated with large scale and concentrated land ownership. In early 2018 the Commission did this by inviting people with experience of living and working in such areas to share their experiences.

The Scottish Government has recently made several policy commitments to stem rural depopulation and attract more people to live and work in rural and island communities. This report presents Scottish and international examples of successful policy interventions to support repopulation of island and remote rural communities, which could be piloted in similar communities in Scotland. The report considers examples from six countries, including Scotland.

This report presents the findings of research commissioned by the Scottish Land Commission to review the effectiveness of community ownership mechanisms and options for simplifying or improving these mechanisms to enable and support the expansion of community ownership in Scotland. This included reviewing processes relating to negotiated sales or transfers of land and/or assets to communities, as well as legislative mechanisms including the Community Right to Buy (CRtB), Crofting Community Right to Buy, the Transfer of Crofting Estates (Scotland) Act 1997 and Asset Transfer measures under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015.

AbstractDespite the availability of important theoretical insights that could enhance the resilience of rural communities to complex challenges, there is a paucity of guidance on how to apply these insights in practice. This article therefore presents and assesses a deliberative research process using the Delphi technique to elicit expert knowledge from 22 academics, community practitioners and policymakers working in roles related to community resilience delivery in rural Scotland. The participants co‐produced an operational framework for community resilience, with support from researchers who facilitated the three‐stage, interactive process. The methodology enabled participants to work together in an iterative and inclusive manner, culminating in the collective development of a conceptual framework consisting of eight resilience‐enabling factors and corresponding criteria for monitoring change, which can be used to plan practical action and provide feedback to enable ongoing adaptation. The process also produced an in‐depth understanding of participants' perceptions of rural community resilience, identified key factors that enable or impede rural community resilience, analysed the potential to assess community resilience and explored scale‐related issues. The article explores the implications of this framework for those working to make rural communities more resilient and reflects on the benefits and wider application of this type of research approach for developing shared understandings of complex concepts.

This report presents the main findings from a research study exploring the public's attitudes to land reform. The study was conducted on behalf of the Scottish Government by Ipsos MORI Scotland in collaboration with Scotland's Rural College. Fieldwork took place between Spring and Autumn 2020. The aim of this research was to investigate the public's attitudes to land reform and community engagement in decisions about land use and provide a nuanced understanding of what policy options are likely to meet the public's priorities. A mixed-method approach was adopted, comprising: an evidence review, eight interviews with expert stakeholders, a mixed mode (online and telephone) survey of 1,501 respondents aged 16 and over, and a deliberative stage which involved 10 online workshops and 12 interviews.

Community landownership in Scotland is generally understood as ownership of title to land and/or assets by a community body, linked to a defined geographic community. It is a relatively distinct category of landownership, regarded as different to public ownership of land (e.g. by government agencies and non-departmental public bodies). In contrast, the interpretation of 'community' or 'communal' ownership of land varies in other countries and is often less clearly distinguished from public ownership. Municipal ownership – a form of state ownership where the land is owned by municipal bodies (e.g. communes) at different scales, is also relevant due to the high level of community control. Communal or municipal rights to land are relatively common globally and across much of Europe, with a growing, statutory recognition of rural communities as collective owners of land. This research was commissioned to provide an overview of relevant forms of community, communal and municipal landownership in other countries, and suggest how lessons from international experiences could be applicable in Scotland.

This report provides a summary of the findings from the distinct pieces of research commissioned by the Scottish Government to Assess the Socioeconomic and Biodiversity Impacts of Driven Grouse Moors and to Understand the Rights of Gamekeepers (CR/2019/01). This project was led by Scotland's Rural College and was undertaken by an experienced team of interdisciplinary researchers from SRUC and the James Hutton Institute.

International audience ; Des recherches récentes ont mis en valeur l'existence d'une demande significative en denrées alimentaires originaires des montagnes européennes. La production de ces aliments va de pair avec des externalités positives, bien que leurs producteurs soient confrontés à de plus grandes contraintes que leurs homologues des plaines. Les marchés sont souvent défaillants pour compenser ces contraintes du fait de l'absence de définition claire des produits de montagne. Le présent article examine en quoi la labellisation et la certification des produits alimentaires joue et peut jouer à terme un rôle de soutien aux circuits de commercialisation des produits alimentaires de montagne et au développement durable des zones montagneuses. L'étude à été menée à partir d'entretiens avec des experts et des acteurs, d'une analyse spatiale et d'une enquête par courriel. Les résultats démontrent que les indications géographiques existantes sont importantes pour la commercialisation des produits alimentaires de montagne ; elles sont cependant peu adaptées pour les petits producteurs. Les systèmes nationaux de certification des produits de montagne ont une efficacité limitée bien qu'ils possèdent un potentiel considérable d'amélioration. Les récentes règles UE définissant les produits de montagne représentent une opportunité essentielle ; il reste cependant des défis à relever et des arbitrages à rendre en ce qui concerne le développement des critères sur la localisation des circuits de commercialisation, les conditions environnementales, les méthodes de contrôle et de certification, ainsi que sur la définition des zones de montagne.

This paper incorporates results from a 2012 collaborative study of mountain food products for the European Commission's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) led by ISARA-Lyon, with support from Euromontana and Perth College, University of Highlands and Islands. The authors are grateful to the European Commission for funding, and to all of the participants who contributed to the research process. ; International audience ; Recent research has demonstrated significant demand for foods from Europe's mountain areas; the production of these foods delivers significant positive externalities, despite producers facing greater constraints than their lowland equivalents. Existing markets often fail to account for these factors due to a lack of clear definition of mountain products. This research investigated the current and potential future role of food labelling and certification to support mountain food supply chains and sustainable mountain development, using expert/stakeholder interviews, spatial analysis, and email survey. Results demonstrate that existing EU Geographical Indication schemes are important for marketing mountain foods; however, they are less suitable for small-scale producers. National schemes for certifying mountain products have limited effectiveness, although considerable scope for enhancement exists. Recent EU legislation defining mountain products represents a considerable opportunity; however, challenges and potential trade-offs remain regarding the development of criteria on the location of supply chain stages and environmental factors, certification and control methods, and definition of mountain areas.