Just transition failing to keep up with investment land grab

The study, produced by the James Hutton Institute and funded by the Scottish Government, looked at the impact of major green investment projects, such as rewilding or forestry, on their local rural communities.

“Farmers and gamekeepers,” it noted, “were the most impacted by these projects, through loss or change of employment and tenancies.”

But the picture was complex, and green investment was also bringing benefits, such as green jobs, training and education, and other opportunities for young people.

Lead researcher Dr Annie McKee, a senior social scientist at the Hutton said: “These changing patterns of land ownership and management, often driven by interest in new financial markets, like carbon and biodiversity credits, have implications for goals around net zero, just transition, land ownership diversification and community wealth building."

She added: “One standout feature we saw was the significant economic power held by new players engaging in Scotland’s land market. This could increase issues relating to landownership scale and concentration while market forces may drive land use and land management change faster than policies looking to achieve a ‘just transition’ can be put in place.”

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A number of recent studies have charted the rapid change in land price, use and management across Scotland. Among them is one by the Scottish Land Commission, which found that Scottish farmland had rocketed in price by 58% between 2020 and 2022.

Last month another report, Forest Ownership in Scotland 2022, authored by Andy Wightman and John Hollingdale, showed that over the course of a decade, private ownership of forest has increased by 11.6% and public ownership has shrunk by 2.2%. It stated:  “This trend toward more concentrated ownership has been driven primarily by the expansion in financial investment ownership compared to 2012.

Alongside this are concerns about the depopulation of rural areas - and last week Highland Council warned that there was a significant risk that parts of its region are being "drained" of people.

For this new Hutton report, 150 landowners and investors, land managers, and community representatives were interviewed or took part in community-based workshops.

Tayvallich estate, owned by pioneering green investor, Highland Rewilding (Image: Highlands Rewilding) 

The study, titled  The Social and Economic Impacts of Green Land Investment in Rural Scotland,  found that while landowners or investors said they were motivated by "environmental, financial, social, reputational, operational and personal factors", communities often felt that projects were financially driven and that the cash behind projects "led to feelings of power imbalances".

The community workshops uncovered evidence of some good practice community engagement by green investment, but also "perceived lack of community involvement in land-use decision-making".

The findings echo recent guidance published by the Scottish Land Commission on ‘Delivering Community Benefits from Land’, which sets out good practice.

“Our findings,” said Dr McKee, “highlight the need for policymakers to consider greater regulation of the natural capital market, enhanced measures to support landownership and land management transparency, and to ensure adherence to the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement.

“Green land investors-owners should include community voices and ensure transparency and accountability in land management plans and objectives.

“We also found that rural communities appear more resilient to land use changes if they can engage and work with green land investor-owners and should be supported to do so. However, further research, particularly focused on tracking changes over time, would help to build a better understanding of the long-term impacts of green land investment in rural Scotland.

As well as greater regulation of natural capital markets, the report also recommended that policymakers should develop ways to “ensure that a proportion of green land investment profits are shared with communities of place that are affected by investment activities”. These included establishing minimum community benefit payments by windfarm developers.

Shetland sheep (Image: Erin Ridland)

Policymakers should also, it said, consider how best to support farming and gamekeeping communities in the just transition. This included "ensuring that the scientific evidence regarding land management and land use change is clearly communicated, and introducing support schemes for those whose agricultural businesses may become unviable to provide retraining and reskilling opportunities.".

Among the recommendations given for green investors is that they should ensure “that any shift in employment types (including redundancy or reassignment of roles), land use change (e.g. shifting from livestock grazing to afforestation), or plans for the conversion of housing stock considers the long-term consequences of these changes to rural community sustainability and just transition”.

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said she welcomed the publication of this research, adding it will inform "our understanding of the challenges and opportunities surrounding green land investment in rural Scotland. The report underlines that investment in and use of Scotland’s natural capital should create benefits that are shared between public, private and community interests".

She added: “It is important that we find a balanced approach to investment that supports resilient and thriving rural communities, our vital agriculture industry and people who work in it, natural capital and land use transformation sectors.  Producing food more sustainably remains a key priority for this Scottish Government.

“However, we also set out in our Programme for Government 2023-24 our commitment to take forward our distinctive market vision in Scotland to support and promote responsible investment that contributes to a just transition, community benefits and robust environmental outcomes.

“We are also committed to involving communities in decision making around how we reform land ownership and use in rural Scotland. As part of our action, we are bringing forward further land reform legislation to improve transparency of ownership, help ensure large scale holdings deliver in the public interest and empower communities by providing more opportunities to own land and have more say in how it is used.”