Landownership affects land management, and participation in the benefits of the land. It is far less normal for people in Scotland to own a woodland, than it is in almost any other European country. Scotland has the most unequal forest ownership in Europe and land is highly concentrated in the hands of remarkably few owners. When land is sold it is often in enormous areas worth £100s of thousands, or £millions. So few people have access to land, and to the financial incentives and opportunities that come with land.
There are ecological reasons, and social justice reasons, for change in landownership. Fairer ownership allows the benefits to reach more people; more widely distributed ownership involves more people and their values in managing the land. The signs are clear that people want to see more trees and woods. Scotland is on a journey of land reform unique in western Europe, but progress is slow and often painful, and the central focus on community ownership may be missing other ways for people to get closer to the land.
How Forestry Favours the Wealthy
How Forestry Favours the Wealthy “Super-rich buying up the forests of Scotland” declaimed newspaper headlines recently – with The Times reporting “Scotland’s forest land in danger of becoming an offshore tax haven for the super-rich”. Those of us who can …

Forestry for the Common Good
As forestry stakeholders meet Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, today to discuss the Future of Forestry, the Forest Policy Group is highlighting 5 key themes which we believe must be central to future forestry development …

A Journey to Owning a Small Scottish Woodland
This is the first in a new series of blog posts highlighting stories of small woodland ownership. Scotland is a country where forests are mainly owned in large expensive units and where ordinary people wishing to own a small woodland …

How to create LOTS of forest owners…..
Kinachreachan Forest Andy Wightman, in a 2012 scoping study on forest1 ownership in Scotland, observed that Scotland out of 19 European countries had the dubious distinction of having the most concentrated forest ownership pattern; and that Scotland’s forest ownership is …

Land Reform – Facts or Prejudices?
Earlier this week, Environment Minister Dr Aileen McLeod said that the benefits of the new Land Reform Bill would be “potentially life-changing for individuals and communities across Scotland”. Ahead of the latest meeting of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change …