Review of Land Management Agreements in Scotland

Deliverable 2.6 for Scotland's Land Reform Futures project (JHI-E3-1) from the Strategic Research Programme 2022-2027 funded by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division.

The main aim of this research is to is to inform Scottish Government policy around biodiversity, in particular, the Scottish Government’s ‘30 x 30’ target. It seeks to learn about the experiences, opportunities and challenges facing the owners of land in undertaking long-term land management for biodiversity enhancement and explore the range of different mechanisms used for long-term land management. In this report, a literature review and interviews with key stakeholders have informed a Typology of Land Management Agreements in Scotland. Analysis of interview data and additional grey literature brought to light opportunities for enabling wider engagement with Land Management Agreements as well as barriers to their uptake. Taking these enablers and challenges into account, a set of recommendations have been produced, with the aim of encouraging voluntary engagement from a variety of landowners with Land Management Agreements.