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Land use strategy for Scotland published

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Land use strategy for Scotland published

The Scottish government has set out how to meet its potential for “effective, economic and environmentally sustainable” land use. The revised Land Use Strategy sets out policies and proposals for the next five years and beyond.

Getting the best from our land is Scotland’s second land use strategy and comes at a time when focus on the way we use land is stronger than ever.

The recently passed Land Reform (Scotland) Bill and Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 have paved the way for this revised strategy, which sets out the importance of:

  • Management of natural resources with an ecosystems approach to land use

  • Partnership activity to bring a range of interests together to consider land use at a local level in both rural and urban areas

  • Developing and implementing activities to promote climate friendly farming and crofting

  • The relationship between ownership, use and management of land

  • Continuing to explore the potential of catchment based approaches for managing land

    • Land reform minister Aileen McLeod said: “Land use is crucial to our economic prosperity as well as how we mitigate and adapt to climate change. With such a precious asset, it is hugely important for us to balance the growing demands on our land and make informed decisions about the way it is managed – Scotland’s revised land use strategy provides the best framework for this.

    “New legislation – the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill and the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 - demonstrate the dynamic nature of the debate on land in Scotland.

    “Our new Land Use Strategy, ‘Getting the best from our land’, represents a bold and ambitious programme and I look forward to seeing its positive impact on land use in Scotland over the coming years.”

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