The Influence of Land Use Policy
Assessing the relative influence of land-use policies on land managers
Scotland has a suite of different policies relating to land-use, reflecting the complexities of balancing different land-use aims, including food production and forestry, environmental protection, climate change mitigation and socio-economic benefits. This research explored the relative influence of different land-use policies on the decision-making processes of a range of different key stakeholders. It builds on previous Policy Coherence Analysis led by the James Hutton Institute.
What did we do?
We used Q methodology to systematically draw out subjective perspectives on land use and agricultural policy from Scottish land-use stakeholders. Q methodology is a technique which involves participants ranking different land-use policies based on their perceived influence on land-use decisions and their ability to achieve their organisation's goals for land-use. Organisations with direct influence over land-use decisions and membership organisations (whose members managed land and made land-use decisions) were interviewed. Interviews with 12 organisations were conducted between February - March 2024.
What did we learn?
The analysis identified 5 distinct representative perspectives (factors) on the influence of land-use policies on decision-making processes:
- Conservationists considered clear environmental protection regulations and guidance as the most influential policy on land-use decisions. A key tension for this group related to maintaining the status quo and "protective function" of land-use policy versus a more ambitious nature enhancement ambition for land-use policy;
- Public and Community Interests viewed inclusive and holistic land-use policies and reform as most influential in land-use decisions. There was concern that the status quo is not delivering for nature, climate and people and a belief that future funding allocations would prioritise agriculture over rural communities or environmental outcomes;
- Food Producers noted agricultural support and incentives had the greatest influence on land-use decision-making. Recognising uncertainty within the land-use policy landscape, they believed that positive land management should be rewarded over targets-based tools or regulations;
- Private Interests supported policies which foster opportunities and reward delivery. They perceived the land-use sector as highly regulated and supported greater clarity on the direction of travel for future policy, and its ramifications for private landowners;
- Crofting Interests recognised the influence of existing schemes and land-use policies in underpinning crofting structures and supporting its viability. However, land-use policy was not perceived as enabling crofters and there was concern about the additional burdens introduced by future policy.
There was a high degree of divergence between these perspectives, underscoring the contested nature of land-use aims and consequently the land-use policy landscape in Scotland. Key themes emerging from the analysis highlighted the high degree of influence attributed to incentive-based legislation and financial support, the impact of uncertainty, complexity, and lack of clarity within the policy landscape, and a preference for landscape scale approaches.
What do we recommend?
The recommendations include:
- establishing a clear framework for financial support and conditions in the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill (the Bill became an Act on 30 July 2024 but at the time of research was upcoming);
- enhancing advisory and knowledge exchange services to support sustainable land-use practices and navigate policy complexities and;
- implementing landscape-scale approaches which can combine democratically informed landscape-scale land-use with targeted regulations and environmental protections.
Such a model could be explored in the context of the Scottish Government's commitment to designate at least one new National Park by 2026, in the evolution of the Rural Support Plan that details agricultural and rural development support schemes, the next land-use strategy and the upcoming Just Transition Plan for agriculture and land-use.
For more detail, you can read the full report and research briefing below.
This report is part of the "Modelling the socio-economic, greenhouse gas and natural capital impacts of land-use policy and opportunities" project within the Scottish Government Strategic Research Programme 2022-27.
