New landscape scale partnerships deliver better integrated management of the land and water environment providing multiple benefits for nature and people.
Over the life of this plan it is essential to work in partnership with others to deliver better stewardship of land and water across the public, private and community owned areas that together make up the National Park.
Integrated management
Better integration of land and water management, across different land ownerships, will be key to increasing resilience in a changing world where more sustainable use of the National Park’s natural resources becomes increasingly important.
Restoration and enhancement
Scotland’s 2020 Biodiversity Challenge sets out to deliver the international United Nations Aichi Biodiversity target for restoring 15% of degraded ecosystems. In the National Park our biggest contribution can be through restoring and enhancing the habitat quality of the large scale woodland, upland and wetland ecosystems that are found here.
The majority of these habitats (56%) are owned by private landowners, with 31% being held by state agencies and 4.5% by environmental Non-Governmental Organisations. Therefore it is important that we establish effective, mutually beneficial partnerships with land managers and find innovative approaches to trialling and piloting large-scale habitat restoration and land management projects.
Land use partnerships
The Scottish Government’s Land Use Strategy 2016 identifies the creation of new Regional Land Use Partnerships as a policy that will bring people together for the better understanding and integration of land use. We wish to lead the way to help deliver this action by establishing and facilitating new Land Use Partnerships in the National Park. These will operate at landscape-scale and across land ownerships in order to deliver better stewardship of land and water across public and private land, and involve local communities. We will also support the aims and objectives of the Callander Landscape Partnership to provide multiple benefits for nature and people.
The priorities for Outcome 4 are outlined below:
Priority 4.1 - Integrated Land Management
To achieve better integrated and more sustainable land management in the National Park we will:
Work with land managers and communities to establish and facilitate Land Use Partnerships operating at landscape and catchment scales, across multiple land ownerships in key areas of the National Park. Examples include the Strathard Partnership and Callander Landscape Partnership.
Support Deer Management Groups to achieve sustainable, long term deer impact management in the Park. This will be done through the development of Deer Management Plans and associated Habitat Impact Assessments, focusing efforts on areas with adverse grazing impacts, and the support of new Deer Management Groups in parts of the Park where none exist.
Overlooking Loch Voil, Balquhidder
Support land managers to plan and deliver multiple environmental and social benefits, alongside economic return, through the creation and delivery of Integrated land management Plans for land management businesses.
Develop a co-ordinated management plan to enhance the wooded Loch Lomond Islands and their habitats.
Building on Success - Ecosystem Services Strathard Project
Strathard Farm
This exciting partnership project, launched in 2017, aims to identify land management solutions in in Strathardthat will help reduce flood risk downstream in and around Aberfoyle. It will also deliver other improvements to the local environment and wildlife, helping to manage natural resources sustainably in a changing climate.
Listed below are partners who have committed to helping deliver these outcomes (Lead Delivery Partners) and those who could provide further support (Support Delivery Partners).
Lead delivery partners:
Scottish Natural Heritage
Forest Enterprise Scotland
Forestry Commission Scotland
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID)
