20 June 2023
A Just Transition in land use and agriculture
Draft Just Transition Outcomes Land Use and Agriculture:
- Jobs and Economy e.g. affordable accommodation, transport, skills, pensions, tourism and food industries.
- Communities and Places e.g. public services, community ownership.
- People and equity e.g. land ownership and governance.
- Environment, Biodiversity and Adaptation e.g. nature-base solutions, resilience.
Discussion Themes:
In July of 2022, the second Just Transition Commission published their Making the Future - second Just Transition Commission: initial report. In this report the commission highlighted five strategic priority themes and corresponding recommendations for the Land Use and Agriculture Just Transition plan:
- Delivering robust land reform,
- Enabling Community Leadership,
- Supporting Greater Climate Action Today,
- Reforming Future Farm Support,
- Restoring Nature.
Policy Context
The Land Use and Agriculture Just Transition Plan will look to complement ambitions and actions of other Government plans and strategies such as Scotland’s third Land Use Strategy, Climate Change Plan update of 2020, Scotland’s Climate Change Plan (forthcoming), Adaptation Plan, (forthcoming) Rural Delivery Plan, (forthcoming) Bioenergy Action Plan and National Island’s Plan, as well as Scotland’s Environment, Biodiversity and Forestry Strategies to name but a few. It will help to provide a wider evidence base as we look to understand how upcoming work such as the Agriculture Reform Programme can help deliver a just transition, whilst demonstrating the links with the other Just Transition Plans in areas such as Built Environment and Construction and Transport.
Examples of Issues
17% of Scotland’s population lives in rural areas (930,000). Approximately 55% of households in Highland council area and 62% in the Western Isles experience fuel poverty.
Key Points for the Public Sector
- Rural communities need to access high quality, affordable and accessible public services and facilities that positively enhance our lives.
- Linkages between the land-based sectors and public health.
- Public good in the future of Scotland’s land use.
- Public investment in technology and training.
- Public sector employment.
- Affordable housing and public transport.
- Partnerships with and between private land interests, industry, public bodies and environmental NGOs.
- National Parks.
Scotland’s forest and woodland area now covers more than 1.4 million hectares. Around one third of this is owned by the state as part of the National Forest Estate, and over 975 000 hectares is owned by individuals, private companies, charities, local authorities, and communities.