What is a sustainable land use model for wild land in Scotland?

Dr Mike Daniels, Chief Scientific Officer, John Muir Trust

It is recognised that Scotland has a significant area of wild land. Wild land, however, has not to date been tightly geographically defined in Scotland. This is partly because wild land is not easily or entirely definable by measurable criteria - given that definitions of wild land contain elements of ‘feelings’ or ‘sense of place’. Due to this uncertainty in (literal and physical) definition, wild land in Scotland has never been formally recognised (e.g. through specific legal designation) nor treated strategically (e.g. through a national strategy).

The lack of both formal recognition and a strategic approach to wild land management has led to varied objectives being applied to wild land throughout Scotland, both historically and contemporarily. Current major land uses for wild land include sport shooting (primarily of red deer), sheep grazing, ski-tourism, biodiversity conservation and renewable energy (hydro and, more recently, wind powered electricity generation). Ecosystem service models of land use are also currently being explored and developed for areas of wild land in Scotland. The ecosystem services approach attempts to formally recognise the goods and serviced provided to man by areas of land (including wild land) at the landscape scale, such as carbon sequestration and flood prevention.

While recent attempts have been made to define wild land geographically over specific areas (e.g. by the Cairngorm National Park Authority), few attempts have been made to quantify wild land in Scotland at a national or strategic scale. Similarly, to date, no attempt has been made to quantify the sustainability of different land management objectives and practices on wild land in Scotland. In this paper, potential criteria for mapping wild land in Scotland are explored and their strengths and weaknesses discussed. An attempt is also made to analyse the sustainability of current and developing land use models for areas of wild land in Scotland in relation to social, economic and environmental criteria. Finally, the threats and opportunities facing the sustainable use of wild land in Scotland are discussed in relation to their current status and an alternative, more strategic approach.