Scottish Borders Land Use Strategy
pilot regional land use framework
4th November 2013
RSA event
Scottish Borders Council HQ
Andy Tharme
Ecology Officer
Scottish Borders Council
Scottish Government Land Use Strategy
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Published in March 2011, under Climate Change Act
10 high level principles
13 proposals (strategic actions)
Action Plan
First revision in 2016
Focus on opportunities for multi-benefits, based on an
ecosystem approach- trade-offs, climate change
adaptation and people engagement
• Regional framework to test feasibility of delivery at an
appropriate scale
www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/346071/0115177.pdf
LUS represents a shift in approach
• Delivering multiple benefits
• Partnership with nature
• Linking people with the land
Pilot Project objectives
• Reflects SG policies and regional/local policy
• Has regard to 10 LUS principles for sustainable land
use
• Considers all major land uses in area
• Regional or catchment-scale
• Provides clarity for decision makers (opportunities &
constraints, grant funding)
• Prepared in partnership (land use sectors)
• Takes an ecosystem approach
• Accounts for changing circumstances and
cumulative impacts of land use change
Land Reform Review not part of the brief
3 key stages
• Baseline mapping- asset mapping & policy
mapping (complete Autumn 2013)
• Opportunities & Constraints (Main Issues)
(MIR complete by Spring 2014)
• Framework (complete by March 2015)
What will the framework look like?
• Primarily, a set of recommendations and lessons
learned to Scottish Government to inform the next
LUS 2016
• A mapping tool to identify opportunities for
ecosystem service delivery
• Locally, we may hope to apply the tool in
combination with a strategy/policy framework that
makes best use of existing policies and funding
streams and help bid for resources
Scottish Borders Councils role
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Overall coordination and management of the pilot
project
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Management of GIS support internal and external
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Co-ordination of final public consultation
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Ensure delivery on time, to budget and standard
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Report to Scottish Government
Tweed Forum’s Role –
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Overseeing Stakeholder Engagement
SBC Corporate plan 2013-18
• Priority 5: Maintaining and improving our quality
environment
Ambitious for the Borders
Using the European Fisheries Fund, Coastal
Communities Fund and European Regional and
Rural Development Funds to the best advantage of
our communities
• Supporting our communities through a focussed
programme of regeneration and rural development
with an emphasis on working with the Scottish
Government
• Working with businesses to identify and resolve
barriers to growth and development
Shaping the regional framework
Rural Businesses
Progress to date
Stage 1
• Tweed Forum project officer appointed
• SBC appointed Environment Systems Ltd as
mapping consultants- SENCE
• Prof Chris Spray key scientific adviser
• GIS mapping project steering group, Tweed Forum
technical group, Policy mapping/SEA sub-group
• Introductory stakeholder meetings
• 2 draft technical reports produced: Baseline
mapping and Policy mapping/SEA- awaiting sign-off
Ecosystem approach
•Provisioning services: e.g. food, fibre
•Regulating services: e.g. water quality, soil carbon
•Supporting services: e.g. biodiversity
•Cultural services: e.g. recreation, sense of place
Ecosystem Services Mapped in Stage 1
~100 datasets Provisioning
used
Agriculture-crops
Agriculture-Livestock
Trees-timber
Energy
Regulating
Soil carbon storage
Vegetation carbon
storage
Sediment risk-water
Water quality
Flood risk
Pollination
Land erosion
Water quantity
Ecosystem Services Mapped to date
Supporting
Biodiversity and nature
conservation
Biodiversity resilience &
networks
Cultural
Landscapes
Local Places
Historic significance
Recreation (non-motorised)
Sporting recreation
Draft Outputs
Scottish Borders- “The Squeezed Middle”
Squeezed Middle- key land management issues
in Borders
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Hill farming-low incomes
Woodland expansion in uplands
Diffuse pollution
Viable grouse moors
Habitat networks-fragmentation
Accomodating renewables
Climate change impacts-food production
Key issues raised at RSA meeting
Nov 2012
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Need to think outside of traditional silos
Innovation- investment
Focus on quality- tourism and inward investment
Concern whether this leads to “control” of land
managers
• Role of local authority?
• Need to find space for the debate amongst
stakeholders
Other issues for consideration under the pilot
• Interface with statutory planning
• Community Planning –Adaptive programme?
• Health & well-being opportunities
Tweed Forum’s Role
Derek Robeson, Tweed Forum
• Assist Scottish Borders Council work
towards developing a framework.
• Raise awareness of the LUS pilot.
• To co-ordinate Stakeholder
Engagement.
• To highlight the benefits of the
approach being taken- The
Ecosystems Approach.
Ecosystem Service Function
Provisioning service - fibre
Provisioning service - food
Regulating service- filtration
Regulating service- pollination
Provisioning
Regulating
Cultural
Sustainability Meter
Why do we need the LUS & Who
benefits?
• Due to the increasing pressures the land is
under ie; increasing food demands, more
forest cover, more wildlife habitats, carbon
storage areas & climate change.
• In theory, we all should benefit.
What will the framework look like?
• It will link with policy frameworks to see
where policies align with ecosystem service
function.
• It will be partly map based.
Vegetation carbon resource
Land Erosion Risk
Arable Crops Area
Biodiversity Resource
Timber Resource
Recreational areas
Three pillars of sustainability & potential
areas for trade - offs
Economic
Environmental
Cultural
There will be inevitable Trade-offs:
(ie between sheep grazing and woodland planting)
-Leading to multiple benefits
Increased
flood
protection
More
biodiversity
Farming and rural
businesses opportunities
Fewer animals lost
in bog
Less liver fluke
Landscape/Tourism/
Access opportunities
Enhanced livestock
management
Trade off between grassland production
& flood management
Protection of silage
field
Woodland planting
Carbon storage
Reduction in peak
flows through
Hawick
or between livestock management and
diffuse pollution control
Reduced siltation
Increase in carbon
storage
Increased habitat
connectivity
Improved water
quality
Potential Case Study Areas
Reasons for choosing
case study areas
• Eddleston Water- NFM opportunities & Habitat
restoration.
• Gala Water- Urban flood protection schemes,
Countryside around towns & Grouse Moors.
• Ettrick & Yarrow– Woodland expansion, sheep farming
& Renewable energy. Look at Community & Social
issues based on work of Southern Uplands Partnership.
• Ale Water- Habitat connectivity & wetland biodiversity.
• Eye Water- Diffuse pollution, Renewable energy,
bathing waters & the marine environment.
• Leet – Arable food production & soil management.
Stakeholder Engagement Groups
Stakeholder Interest/Influence Matrix
higher
Local
Authority
Environmental
N GOs
Politicians –
N ational
(MPs, MSP)
Landowners
Farmers
Foresters
Environmental Statutory
Bodies – SEPA, SN H , FC,
HS
Rural Business Land - Advisers RPID
IN T EREST
Scottish
W ater
Relevant Community Initiatives
Further
Education
College
(Schools)
Rural Business
- T ourism
lower
Rural Business
- Retail
General
Public
lower
Renewables
Industry/Business
Community
Councils
Rural Business –
Farm Support
(Supplies,
H auliers)
Rural
Business –
Processing
IN FLU EN CE
higher
Stakeholder Engagement Methods
Level of Stakeholder Engagement
Method of Engagement
Landowners, Farmers,
Foresters, PoliticiansN ational (MPs, MSP),
Local Authority,
Environmental N GOs,
Environmental
Statutory Bodies SEPA, SN H , FC, H S
Scottish W ater, Rural
Business Land – Advisers,
RPID, Relevant
Community Initiatives,
Rural Business – T ourism,
Renewables
Further Education College
(Schools), Community
Councils, Rural Business –
Retail, Rural Business –
Farm Support (Supplies,
H auliers)
Industry/Business
T weed Forum W ebsite
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T elephone Service
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Press Releases
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W ritten Articles/Features
Periodicals
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Dedicated W orkshops (case
study subcatchments)
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Existing Fora
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Organisational Group
Meetings
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One to one meetings (on
request)
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Opportunities & Trade-offs
• Hopefully, the stakeholders will help inform
this stage.
• Provisional responses to LUS pilot to date:
• LUS could assist with flooding issues
• Could help with pollution issues
• Could help with Forestry planting schemes
• Concern over increased regulation
• Concern from over reliance on maps
Key Outcomes of the LUS pilot?
• To constructively inform the next LUS - 2016
• Could be adopted by local Authority to
inform community planning, including the
Local Biodiversity Action Plan
• Help Inform Land Use priorities, - ie under
SRDP 2
• Used for Catchment Management Planning
(RBMP, Flood Management Plans)
• Hopefully, it will be a simple, accessible,
user friendly evaluation tool
Please have your say on the LUS
• What do you see as the main land management
issues in the Borders?
• How can trade-offs be identified ?
• What would help with making these decisions?
• Where is the link between the providers of
ecosystem service function and the
beneficiaries?
• How / where should public funding be
prioritised in future?
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These topics are being discussed at stakeholder meetings
Tweed Forum website- www.tweedforum.org/lus