CLAN Gathering 2026- Oral Presentation Session 2

Supporting Community Land Ownership in Wester Ross Biosphere: Unpacking Tensions and Opportunities for the Future

Zoe Malcolm (University of Edinburgh)

Although community land ownership has be growing in the Scottish Highlands, areas such as Wester Ross, are flagged up as evidence that land reform still has a long way to go (MacKenzie 2013). This paper presents on findings from an ethnographic study of the Wester Ross UNESCO Biosphere Reserve – a community-led sustainability initiative covering a significant region of the North West Highlands. It unpacks some of the tensions around community land ownership within Wester Ross communities and discusses opportunities for the future in a context where private land ownership remains the norm. It considers the role of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in relation to land, drawing on critical theory to make the case for greater focus on changing land practices and ownership to create a more sustainable Biosphere region.

Resilience and Community Land Trusts

Rona Campbell (Highlands and Islands Enterprise)

The presentation would explain the PhD research undertaken to test the resilience of Community Land Trusts in the Outer Hebrides and whether they can be seen as a model for sustainable local development.

The research demonstrates that for some communities in the Outer Hebrides, a Community Land Trust has delivered significant community and economic development by providing jobs, community-based initiatives, and a greater sense of confidence amongst the residents of the estate.

Study data was gathered from twenty in-depth semi-structured interviews during the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a unique test resilience for the Land Trusts in an emergency situation. The data was reviewed using a thematic analysis and further analysed using the Community Capitals Framework to test the theory of Emery and Flora (2006), which considers whether the strength of these capitals as a good indicator of how well communities are developing in a sustainable manner. The study established the significance of the strength of social and human capital in securing enhanced resilience in the Land Trusts.

The Trusts provided leadership in the establishment of emergency networks to deliver services like food and prescriptions, as well as ensuring social contact was maintained through online events. Additionally, the study established a connection between the land, indigenous communities, and the survival of the Gaelic language. Where the Land Trusts do not always have similar responses to these challenges, the study established their ability to react to the views of their communities in a robust manner.

The study revealed the future of Community Land Trusts in the Outer Hebrides was linked strongly to interdependencies between the Trusts, the local authority, and other external agencies, including the Scottish Government. The research indicated that the Trusts were developing a stronger, more cohesive voice in what has become a complex economic and community development environment.

Does community stewardship of public forests enhance the delivery of public goods?

Chris Blake (Black Mountains College)

The primary aim of this study was to determine whether the involvement of local communities in forest stewardship could lead to the enhanced delivery of public goods when compared with public stewardship. If there was evidence of enhanced delivery of public goods, either observed or intended, could they be attributed to differences in the expressed objectives or espoused values of the community and public stewards, or to differences in the preferred outcomes or environmental attitudes of the people within the public and community two organisations? Four case studies were selected, two from Wales and two from Scotland, each reflecting different models of community stewardship, from ownership to an informal partnership agreement.

The study showed that in each of the case studies community involvement in forest stewardship either had delivered, or had plans to deliver, the public goods of biodiversity and rural vitality beyond the level planned by the public forest stewards.

I conclude that the principal driver of the enhanced delivery of public goods results not from differences in expressed objectives or espoused values but from the increased resources, financial and human, brought by community involvement and the different operational constraints that apply to public and community stewards.

Despite public forest administrations acknowledging the benefits of community stewardship, anxiety about the loss of timber production and the internal resources required to engage with community organisations, plus a perceived lack of resilience of community organisations were raised as barriers to greater community stewardship. In Wales, in contrast to Scotland where freehold asset transfer has been a policy goal for over two decades, I conclude that there is significant opportunity for more widespread partnership working with appropriately constituted community groups to enhance the delivery public goods for the benefit of all.

Community and the politics of sustainability at different scales

Tim Braunholtz-Speight (University of Leeds)

Local community organisations are often seen as essential actors in sustainability transitions, reaching community members in a way that larger scale bodies do not. However, their closeness to their members that is their strength comes with tradeoffs. I present for debate the hypothesis that community organisations are better at expanding their members powers or 'capabilities' (Sen) than restricting them - with consequences for what they can and cannot be reasonably expected to do.

There are three parts to the argument. Firstly, research into Scottish community landowners and other community asset groups illustrates how the complexity and all-encompassing nature of community 'micropolitics' (Cornwall) leads community democracy to be less 'adversarial' (Mansbridge) than politics at larger scales. Secondly, a short case study of how Scottish community land owners have approached local housing politics suggests one consequence of this: community organisations must tread very carefully when restricting the capabilities of community members.

Thirdly, the transition to a more ecologically sustainable UK will require various sorts of changes to our everyday lives. Politicians at all levels of government grapple with the choice between promoting more sustainable behaviours, and restricting unsustainable behaviours – often and understandably prioritising the former. Community organisations can certainly promote sustainability e.g. develop renewable energy, or help members get practical support with saving energy. But restricting unsustainable practices may be even harder for them to tackle than it is for 'regular' politicians. Of course, that is not to say that they can never do so, or should not try – that’s up to each community organisation to decide.

Whether this argument has any academic or practical merits, is totally unfounded, or is blindingly obvious to anyone who has ever done any community work, is a matter for the conference to debate!

Rural Assets: Policy and Practice Insights from the Devolved Nations

Dani Hutcheon (Glasgow Caledonian University)

Across all jurisdictions of the UK, the acquisition of local assets, such as land and buildings, is promoted at a policy and public authority level as a valued means of creating the physical conditions for socially entrepreneurial activity and boosting socio-economic sustainability However, there is divergence in policy application and local level practice across the UK with little known about what works well in varied national and regional rural contexts.

Findings are presented from the British Academy and Nuffield Foundation project ‘Rural Assets: Policy and Practice Insights from the Devolved Nations’. The project aimed to understand the impacts of the processes of community asset acquisition upon the empowerment, resilience, and well-being of rural communities across the four nations of the UK. The research comprised of three interlinked work packages including a scoping review and analysis of policy and law, and in-depth interviews with rural community members, public authorities and key stakeholders across each nation. Findings were also underpinned by shared learning from cross nation Knowledge Exchange events bringing together communities, policymakers and practitioners.

This presentation will outline key facilitators and barriers for rural communities engaging in processes of gaining land and buildings from public authorities. Further, the research reports on how such processes of asset acquisition impact on the empowerment, resilience and wellbeing of rural communities. Given the evolving policy landscape around community asset acquisition, including the recent Scottish Community Wealth Building Bill, and the proposed introduction of a Community Right to Buy in England, key practical implications will be discussed for communities, and local and national government.