Land, lairds and sustainability - Jayne Glass

A wide-ranging study of how different landownership models deliver sustainability in Scotland's upland areas

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.??

Key Features:

• Presents major new thinking on upland estate management
• First dedicated textbook on upland estate management
• Respected and experienced academic editorial team
• An academic synthesis of theory and practical case-studies

...provides a concise and yet highly informative introduction to the delivery of sustainability in Scotland's upland areas that is accessible to the generalist reader, whilst being equally beneficial for and valuable to upland managers.

This book is a valuable contribution to the applied literature on the sustainability of land management and ownership systems, and gives an excellent contemporary account of the land use scene in the Scottish uplands.