2006-2010

GEOSPECS (Geographic Specificities and Development Potentials in Europe)

2010 – 2012

The Applied Research Project GEOSPECS, commissioned by the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion (ESPON), aimed to provide a coherent framework to characterize past trends, state and potential future developments of geographic specificities for territorial policy and regional development. Regions with “geographic specificities” addressed by the study were:

• Border areas
• Sparsely populated areas
• Inner peripheries
• Mountain areas
• Highly populated areas
• Islands
• Coastal zones
• Outermost regions

“Geographic specificities” may create both challenges and opportunities, thus departing from the previous perception of “natural handicaps”. Thus, GEOSPECS not only analysed the geographic specificities themselves but also considered transversal themes such as economic development conditions, social processes, and natural resources and risks, in order to quantify and qualify state and trends in the regions.  One reason for exploring these regions is that concepts such as “mountain”, “island” or “border area” create a sense of commonality among regional actors from across Europe.

To disentangle the complex interactions between geographic specificities and different social, economic and institutional processes, a number of activities were carried out by the research consortium. The delineation, description and mapping of the regions with geographic specificities naturally formed the first step.  This was followed by the compilation of a database (at the municipality level, for 125,049 municipalities across Europe) of social and economic structures and trends in areas with geographic specificities; qualitative analysis of development processes in areas with geographic specificities; case studies; consultations; and the formulation of policy options based on ‘nexus models’ for each specificity.

Nine different project partners (universities and research institutions) from across Europe took part in the GEOSPECS project, each focusing on a particular geographic specificity. The Centre for Mountain Studies was one of the project’s coordinators, was responsible for all questions relating to mountain areas, and also analysed biodiversity and protected areas.

Final report and final scientific report 

Periodic review of UNESCO biosphere reserves

In 2010, staff at the Centre for Mountain Studies conducted a periodic review of biosphere reserves.

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, has a long history of activities in mountain areas.  Foremost among these has been the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. Project 6 of this programme focussed on mountain areas; in 1995, Martin Price published a review and assessment of activities in Europe.

Currently, the main operational tool of the MAB programme is the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR). Biosphere reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems nominated by national governments, designated by UNESCO and thus internationally recognised. They remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located.

According to the Statutory Framework for the WNBR, adopted by UNESCO's General Assembly in 1996, "biosphere reserves should strive to be sites of excellence to explore and demonstrate approaches to conservation and sustainable development at a regional scale".

The first biosphere reserves were designated in 1976. As of August 2006, the WNBR consists of 482 biosphere reserves in 102 countries. A significant proportion of these are in mountain areas. In preparation for the International Year of Mountains, the CMS and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Cambridge) developed a website and CD to bring attention to UNESCO's activities in mountain areas around the world. These include not only biosphere reserves, but also natural and cultural World Heritage sites and projects within the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) and the International Hydrological Programme (IHP).

Full citation: Price, M.F., Park, J.J. and Bouamrane, M. (2010). Reporting progress on internationally-designated sites: the periodic review of biosphere reserves. Environmental Science and Policy, 8: 549-557.

mountain.TRIP (Mountain Sustainability: Transforming Research into Practice)

2009 – 2011

The mountain.TRIP project, funded through the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme, started in November 2009 and ran for 24 months.

The consortium was coordinated by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Institute of Mountain Research: Man & Environment), and also involved the Mountain Research Initiative, Euromontana, EcoLogic (Germany), Jagiellonian University (Poland), and the CMS.

The goal was to provide stakeholders, end-users and practitioners with readily accessible and understandable forms of research-based information relevant to sustainable development in mountain regions. mountain.TRIP started where other EU projects have finished, translating research findings into useful information and developing relationships between users and researchers. EU research projects generally focus on elucidating truths, not on communicating these truths to practitioners or the interested public.

Research projects often produce valuable results, methods, tools and instruments, but at the end of the project neither time nor money remain to disseminate these results among practitioners and to the interested public. Furthermore, research results usually exist in forms recognized by the research community but not easily or quickly assimilated by communities of practice.

The main outputs of mountain.TRIP were:

• a communication platform containing a social network (mountain.COMMUNITY)
• a data base on mountain-related EU-funded projects (mountain.PROJECTS)
• a handbook on how to find results of European mountain research (mountain.SEARCH)
• a collection of short videos (mountain.TUBE)
• a wiki-tool (mountain.WOCUR)

In addition, research results were transformed into practical tools tailored to the daily needs

• of the practitioners in mountain regions through developing tutorials, flyers, poster-exhibitions, a toolkit, instructive videos and a section how science sells:
• The DIAMONT tutorial provides information on how to use the pan-Alpine database on statistical data (NUTS 5 level), steering instruments of sustainable mountain development and best practices across the entire Alpine Arc.
• A set of brochures on "Carpathian fine food - from your farm to everyone's table" demonstrates how the findings of an EU project (EuroMARC) can be made useful for practitioners in a specific country (Romania). The brochures have been produced by communication professionals and not, as is often the case, by a research team. They considered communication basics and included short statements in a direct language, checklists, and useful addresses within Romania.
• The mountain food video, available in eight languages, gives an instructive insight into a development strategy in mountains achieved in the EuroMARC project. Smaller producers working in Europe's mountain regions create some truly unique and incredible products. Yet, they often face significant challenges in marketing, distributing and selling their products. This animated video introduces ideas and approaches to marketing mountain products.
• A set of posters and an informative brochure on the OLIVERO project on the sustainable production of olives, is another example of research results transformed to the level of practitioners in a specific region. The posters are shown to the public in various regions of Andalucia.

The project also produced recommendations for funding strategies, research agendas, formal requirements, communication tools, formats and improvement of project documentation on the CORDIS database.

• TRIP - MRI (mountainresearchinitiative.org)

Benefits and impacts of the grouse shooting industry in a Scottish rural upland community

The Centre for Mountain Studies conducted a study in early 2008 which explored the key benefits and impacts of the grouse shooting industry from the perspective of a rural community within which grouse shooting is a common activity.  This work was supported by the Scottish Countryside Alliance Educational Trust.

Grouse shooting report - November 2009

A single in-depth case study of the linked communities of Tomintoul and Strathdon was carried out, which included a survey of all nearby estates, a postal survey of the entire community and a number of semi-structured with key community-level informants.

Full citation

Mc Morran, R. (2009). Red grouse and the Tomintoul and Strathdon communities - The benefits and impacts of the grouse shooting industry from the rural community perspective; a case study of the Strathdon and Tomintoul communities in the Cairngorms National Park. The Scottish Countryside Alliance Educational Trust Commissioned
Report.

Wild land and wildness in Scotland

2008 – 2011

The concept of 'wild land' is related to (but is different from) that of 'wilderness', a term more commonly used in North America, where it has a legal status.

There has been a long, rich and continuing discussion regarding 'wild land' in Scotland, where its definition includes cultural and perceptual as well as ecological criteria, and it is also linked to opportunities for outdoor recreation.

Staff at the Centre for Mountain Studies were involved in a range of studies to map wild areas and research the meanings of the concept in more detail.

In 2010, the CMS hosted a conference on wild land at the SNH conference centre in Battleby: Scotland's wild landscapes - new ways forwards

Full citations

Brown, C., Mc Morran, R. and Price, M.F. (2012) Re-wilding – A new paradigm for nature conservation in Scotland? Scottish Geographical Journal, 127, 288-314.

Carver, S., Comber, A., Mc Morran, R. and Nutter, S. (2011) Understanding spatial patterns and distribution of wild land: developing GIS approaches to modelling wildness in Scotland’s national parks.  Landscape and Urban Planning, 104 (3-4), 395-409.

Fisher, M., Carver, S., Kun, Z, Mc Morran, R., Arrell, K. and Mitchell, G. (2010), Review of status and conservation of wild land in Europe. Scottish Government.

Comber, A., Carver, S., Fritz, S., Mc Morran, R. Washtell, J. and Fisher, P. (2009) Different methods, different wilds: Evaluating alternative mappings of wildness using fuzzy MCE. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 34, 142-152.

Mc Morran, R, Price, M.F. and Warren, C. (2008) The call of different wilds: The importance of definition and perception in protecting and managing Scottish wild landscapes. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 51 (2) 177-199.

Carver, S., Comber, L., Fritz, S., Mc Morran, R., Taylor, S. and Washtell, J. (2008) Wildness Study in the Cairngorms National Park. University of Leeds.

Mc Morran, R., Price, M.F. and McVittie, A. (2006) A review of the benefits and opportunities attributed to Scotland's landscapes of wild character. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 194 (ROAME No. F04NC18).

Clim-ATIC (Climate Change: Adapting to the impacts by Communities in Northern Peripheral Regions)

2008 – 2011

Clim-ATIC was a three year, 2.4 Euro million international project that was awarded project funding of 60% by the European Commission's Northern Periphery Programme.

The project ran from 1 March 2008 to 28 February 2011 and involved community stakeholders working in partnership with public sector and academic institutions from Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Greenland and Finland, to explore the potential for different community sectors to develop climate change adaptation capacity, and deliver real climate change adaptations that provided local economic and social advantages.

Clim-ATIC's overall objective was to establish a service that provided information, training and advice to communities, small businesses, and local administrations across the Northern Periphery who wish to significantly increase their capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

To achieve this overall objective, and build the necessary knowledge, the project undertook a range of key activities over the three-year period with 10 communities (2 from each of the five participating regions), and their appropriate community stakeholders.

These activities were divided into the key stages of a recommended adaptation process:

Vulnerability assessment:

• A comprehensive review of the likely short and long-term implications of climate change on a number of specific rural communities in each partner region
• Develop climate change vulnerability scenarios using existing climate change data and models, social change scenarios, and local knowledge and experience
• Identify the barriers and opportunities for rural communities that wish to adapt to climate change

Development of a (Community) Climate Change Adaptation Strategy by the participating communities.

The planning, delivery and evaluation of up to 12 complementary adaptation demonstration projects by communities and their stakeholders.

Clim-ATIC was led and managed by the Centre for Mountain Studies with the support of the University of the Highlands and Islands, and key partners from academic and public sector organisations in other participating regions.

The project was principally coordinated by Clive Bowman of the Centre for Mountain Studies.

You can watch the Clim-ATIC podcast series on YouTube.

Northern Periphery Programme

Multi-functional forestry in the Cairngorms (PhD: Robert Mc Morran)

Completed in 2007

Forestry policy in Scotland emphasises the role of the private sector in delivering both multi-functional forestry and continuing forest expansion.

PhD research on multifunctional forestry in the Cairngorms region, funded through a studentship from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, was completed in 2007:

• Robert Mc Morran: Constraints and opportunities for integrated multifunctional forest management in the Cairngorms region of Scotland

The aim was to evaluate the potential for further development of multi-functional forestry in the region, particularly from a policy and planning context, taking into consideration both the range of owners’ objectives, and constraints facing forest managers in delivering multi-functional forestry.

The research focused on the significance of landownership, policy and the scales of management and governance for multi-functional forestry. A conceptualisation of multifunctional forestry was developed which includes a range of key criteria.

Two key themes which emerged from the research were:

• Scale is of critical importance in conceptualising multifunctional forestry and many factors which constrain the management and governance of multifunctional forestry relate to ‘mis-matches’ in scale between the functioning of the ecological system (forest) being managed/interacted with and the scale of the social system managing, governing or interacting with this same system.
  
• The multifunctionality of forest management is not a direct product of how forests are owned (i.e. under private, public, NGO or community ownership). Rather, different forms of landownership can result in variability in how the concept is applied and which aspects of multifunctionality are emphasized most strongly.

Sustainable Estates for the 21st Century

2007 – 2013

Aligning upland estate management with sustainable development presents a great challenge as estate activities encompass property and land management, agriculture and sport, forestry, as well as access, recreation and other community aspects.

Four research projects began at the Centre for Mountain Studies in September 2007 in order to explore the concept of 'sustainable estate management'.  The projects studied different research questions related to estate management in upland Scotland and each was developed individually by three PhD students and one post-doctoral researcher, with support from their supervisory team.

Two of the dissertations focussed on privately-owned estates:

• Landowner motivation and perceptions of sustainability; exploring visions for the future of the Scottish uplands (Pippa Wagstaff)
• The role of private landownership in facilitating sustainable rural communities in upland Scotland (Annie McKee)

One studied community-owned estates:

• A study of the experiences of internal and external actors in community-owned estate initiatives in Scotland (Dr Rob Mc Morran)

The final project took a broader approach to investigating sustainable development in the context of upland estate management.  This led to the development of a 'Sustainable Estates Toolkit' in tandem with a panel of key stakeholders.

• The power of the research process: co-producing a sustainability assessment toolkit for upland estate management in Scotland (Dr Jayne Glass)

The projects were supervised by Professor Martin Price (Director, Centre for Mountain Studies), together with Dr Charles Warren (University of St. Andrews) and Professor Alister Scott (Birmingham City University).

To ensure the on-the-ground and policy relevance of the project, an Advisory Group provided feedback on the project's progress at regular intervals.  This group included representatives from the Scottish Government, Scottish Land and Estates, Scottish Environment LINK, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and the Knoydart Foundation. 

The PhD studentships were funded by the Henry Angest Foundation.

Project results

Following the completion of the individual projects, the work entered a synthesis phase in 2011-2012.  Further details: Sustainable Upland Estate Management in Scotland (sustainable-estates.co.uk)

The Sustainable Estates team produced a short booklet 'Working Together for Sustainable Estate Communities' that explores the potential of collaborative initiatives between privately-owned rural estates, rural communities and other partners in upland Scotland.

This topic was explored in depth because it emerged as a key theme in the individual projects.  The booklet is based on evidence gathered from a range of sources.  It was informed in general by the whole Sustainable Estates project and, in particular, by Annie McKee’s study: ‘The role of the private landowner is facilitating sustainable rural communities’.

A draft of the booklet was presented at three workshops in Braemar (Cairngorms National Park), Cairndow (Argyll) and Lochinver (Sutherland) in October and November 2011.  At these events, a range of community members, rural estate representatives (from different types of estates) and other stakeholders gave feedback on the document and made suggestions for its improvement.  The comments received at the workshops and via the project website were incorporated into the final version.  

The delivery of the workshops and the production of the booklet were supported by a Small Knowledge Exchange Grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), with additional support from Scottish Land and Estates and the Scottish Government.

The full results of the project have been compiled within a book titled 'Lairds, Land and Sustainability: Scottish perspectives on upland management', published by Edinburgh University Press in 2013.

A full list of publications related to this project can be found on the Sustainable Estates for the 21st Century website.

A context for forestry in Caithness and Sutherland

2007 – 2009

Forestry in Caithness and Sutherland is often associated with the negative environmental impacts of the establishment of coniferous plantations in the Flow Country.

However, while this is clearly an issue of considerable importance, forestry in the region also has a much wider range of positive interactions as a land use and as a community resource.

CMS was commissioned by Forestry Commission Scotland (now Forestry and Land Scotland) to carry out a scoping study with the aim of providing a context for forestry in Caithness and Sutherland.

The first round of this work occurred in 2007 and work in 2008-2009 built on this initial phase, incorporating case studies and interviews with key stakeholders to highlight the range of existing contributions of forests and woodlands in Caithness and Sutherland and the opportunities for the future in terms of delivering the SFS across the counties.

A wide range of issues and opportunities were identified, including the potential for development of the regional woodfuel market, development of native riparian woodland, widespread forest restructuring and expansion of native semi-natural woodland.

EuroMARC (European Mountain Agrofood products, Retailing and Consumers)

2007 - 2008

EuroMARC was a European project facilitated by Euromontana, a European multi-sectoral association involved with the co-operative development of mountain territories.  It provided a representative overview of the different meanings of mountain food products along the food chain, from end-users/consumers, to retailers, producers, farmers, and ‘mountain’ policy makers.

The key objective of the project was the identification of opportunities for adding value to mountain food products as a prerequisite for the survival and the management of rural and cultural mountain diversity.

The work carried out under EuroMARC was divided among a number of European-wide organisations, including in Scotland, the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) and the Centre for Mountain Studies (CMS).

The work conducted at CMS from September 2007 to August 2008, under EuroMARC (Work package 5), involved reviewing policies relevant to the development of mountain areas at the European Union and national level for six key countries: Scotland; France; Romania; Slovenia; Norway and Austria.

The main objective of this work was the clarification of the policy framework with regard to all stages of the mountain agrifoods process, from production to distribution.

As well as a review of the general policy framework for mountain areas, the secondary stages of this work involved a focused review of policies relating to the promotion and labelling of local and quality food, particularly from mountain areas and to consider them in the context of WTO policies.

A key objective of the EuroMARC work conducted at the Centre for Mountain Studies was the identification of synergies and discrepancies between the reviewed policy areas in order to make recommendations regarding the alignment of policies to foster the production, processing, marketing, promotion and distribution of mountain quality food products in Europe. The final report from CMS was submitted to Euromontana in 2008. CMS Staff also attended and presented at the final Euro-MARC conference in Maribor, Slovenia in December 2008.