Twelve best practice guidelines
Rainy oakwood, Credit Andy Robinson
…for developing landscape-scale ecological restoration projects
These guidelines were originally created in autumn 2021 and endorsed by partner organisations of the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest (ASR). The context to these guidelines was updated in spring 2024. We hope that any organisation developing landscape-scale projects will find them useful.
These guidelines have been developed using examples from the following projects:
Cairngorms Connect (CC)
Flows to the Future (FttF)
Glen Creran (GC)
The Scottish Land Commission was also consulted and recommend all projects adhere to the Scottish Government’s Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS).
Please note: This list is not hierarchical – all guidelines should be treated equally – and while they are presented in a rough order of process, there is no expectation anyone should follow the order rigidly. Neither should this list be seen as exhaustive. Learning is ongoing and if you would like to add your learnings to this document, we would love to hear from you. Please find contact details at the end of this document.
1 Have a dedicated resource to drive your project forward
Developing a landscape-scale project isn’t something you can easily do on the edge of your desk. You need a dedicated project manager to give you the necessary capacity to drive the project forward.
CC ran ‘edge-of-desk’ for four years to develop the partnership but were unable to scale up the work to achieve the vision until the partnership was awarded funding which enabled employment of a Programme Manager and a dedicated staff support team.
For ECMP, although it was set up in 2015, things didn’t really get going until there was a staff member put in place in 2018.
The community organisations that were involved with the CALLP project needed the capacity of a lead organisation to drive the project forward.
GC found that managing multi-partner projects is complex and unforeseen resource implications must be allowed for, which can create particular issues for locally based organisations.
2 Give project partners ownership
It’s important to make sure every partner involved in the project feels ownership. When working with private estates, local communities and/or community groups, it’s critical to make sure it’s not just NGO-led and that everyone buys-in to the vision and the steps needed to get there. This takes longer but is worth the effort.
CC has equal partner involvement at all levels, from a CC Principals’ Group (top/CEO-level), to CC Board (senior staff with decision and budget control), and operational oversight groups for restoration delivery, deer management, communications and science.
CALLP did not involve statutory agencies (as no agency had responsibility for a large landholding) – but it was found that the lack of these organisations gave community groups ownership over the project. This aided collaboration between these groups and resulted in the community as a whole becoming more resilient.
ECMP took on a staff member in 2018 to coordinate the project – all estates contributed to this position in some way, either financially or via in-kind contributions. This helped to ensure a feeling of ownership.
GC found it really valuable to have the local community council engaged as a partner and was prepared to take a role in ensuring the long-term success of the project.
3 Engage with local communities early
It’s important for local communities to be aware of, and participate in, decisions made about the landscape in which they live. Local communities will live with the changes a project makes and will be the beneficiaries of the legacy it leaves. They also have a wealth of valuable local knowledge and experience to offer. Ideas for initial engagement include consultation, events and participation on steering groups. Make sure you allow adequate time and resource for engagement and seek out conversations with local champions, community councillors, local authority councillors and representatives of other constituted groups.
Identifying and sharing the benefits of a project with local communities can unlock active community involvement during a project’s lifetime – from development though delivery to legacy. Broadening the project’s focus to include social and economic benefits e.g. increased training and employment opportunities, as well as highlighting the environmental benefits of reduced soil erosion, flood risk and wildfire management, is likely to generate more support.
There are some useful resources from the Scottish Land Commission: Community Engagement - Good Practice - Our work - Scottish Land Commission. The route map is particularly helpful with helpful case study examples.
CALLP showed how the project can be economically beneficial by attracting more tourists to the area, as well as new people to live there. This is important in a depopulated landscape.
CALLP also showed the benefit of community organisations leading their own projects within the bigger scheme. Without this, they are less likely to be a partner or have an equal voice at the “partnership table”.
GC found that community involvement was essential. While they found some initial reluctance, local people came on board and have been key to the success of the project. They found that supplying good information via leaflets, workshops events and by cultivating local champions was important for this.
LRRS principles require information about the project to be made available to the public as well as having a clear strategy for community engagement in place.
Scottish Land Commission recommends that as well as the positive benefits, there is also a need to consider what negative impacts there may be on the community. It is important to balance all of the different demands placed on the land, considering the social, economic and financial effects of decisions made over the short, medium and long-term.
4 Agree clear guiding principles about how you want to work together
It’s important to get this agreed right at the start of the project, to ensure common understanding and clear expectations, including who can make what kinds of decisions and what requires input from the whole group. These should be written down (e.g. in a Memorandum of Understanding) and shared so they can easily be referred to by all partners.
CC found that the MoU they established was essential in establishing objectives, milestones and ways of working together. Alongside this, there is a principle of respecting each partner’s management approaches to achieve those objectives, as well as a constructive sharing of techniques, which can lead to partners changing management approaches.
CALLP, which directly involved 14 partners, found that agreeing the purpose and processes at the start led to more effective community collaboration and as a result the community itself has become stronger and more resilient.
GC had a steering group and a stakeholder group – both important but with different functions.
LRRS principles require local representation in decision-making processes and structures and give regard to the social, economic, environmental and cultural impacts of decision-making.
5 Don’t make it a talking shop
Agree tangible and clear objectives and arrange regular meetings with partners, with a clear agenda to drive the project forward. Make sure that people who can make decisions are able to attend.
CC doesn’t allow partners to send proxies to CC Board meetings, which are attended by senior staff. This proactive approach to ‘getting things done’ with key people has meant that a lot of trust and support has been built up over the years.
6 Make time to understand each other
Don’t forget that just talking can still be useful - especially at an early stage. It’s important to allow the time needed to bring people together, especially if there are differing attitudes. Allowing time for discussion enables people to understand the concerns of others and find solutions that everyone can agree to, so that the aims and objectives of the project remain on track. Do not underestimate the time that may be required to achieve this, especially where multiple individuals or organisations may be involved.
GT - the early discussions with private estates were very helpful in exploring the common interest in conservation objectives and rewilding opportunities etc.
7 Start with the common ground
Working at landscape scale usually involves working with a mix of landowners (private, government, NGO, community) who will likely have differing management objectives. Find common ground by focussing on the easy wins first, which will help everyone see the benefits of collaboration as well as establishing trust and co-operation, before moving onto more difficult issues. Having clear and tangible objectives will make it easier for partners to see progress and results.
CC started with collaborative deer control for forest expansion across 60,000ha, as this was something that all the partners were agreed on from the beginning.
ECMP – initial projects were based around waders and moorland management, as these were less controversial than other issues such as raptors and woodland development.
8 Gather data
Data-gathering is critical - it provides the evidence you need to make a good case for your project, using solid baseline data and monitoring to inform discussions. This can add time and costs to the project but is essential.
Good evidence was a pre-requisite to justify the restoration proposals in CC’s application for funding.
ECMP mapped out areas of muirburn to inform discussions rather than relying on anecdotal evidence. This helped to avoid the conjecture and opinion that can come with emotive topics like raptors and grouse.
GC found it was important to clarify land ownership – when working with several smaller landowners, it matters who owns what. This can take time. The LRRS recommends that voluntary land ownership registration is undertaken; ownership of land can also be checked through Registers of Scotland.
GC found that it was necessary to build a contingency into the project application when considering rhododendron control: it can be very difficult to have confidence that you have fully mapped the problem in a landscape, and if project development takes a long time, a re-survey may be needed before tender information can be prepared.
9 Develop a common vision
The process of developing a common vision helps everyone understand each other and the different priorities people may have and is an essential foundation to establishing the short-term objectives and outputs that will work towards that vision. Thinking in longer timescales also helps to get partners on board. Draw on historical connections and what future generations will want – not just in terms of ecological restoration, but the economic and social benefits the project will deliver.
CC’s 200-year vision inspires people by telling the story of what can be achieved if you think long term. You don’t necessarily need to think quite this far ahead but thinking about benefits for the next generation can be useful.
CALLP found that to ensure legacy, the project needs to be part of a longer vision (up to 50 years or more) to reflect the required long-term commitment. Achieving a landscape scale project within five years is very difficult.
10 Make it large enough to be effective, but avoid making it impractically complex
The size of the project, and therefore the number of partners involved, is an important factor. It needs to be large enough to deliver real and lasting benefits but the more partners, the more complex, and difficult to deliver a project becomes.
CC works over a huge area but only has four partners, which makes it easier to deliver. The area is also contiguous, which helps in ecologically, as well as for management and communications.
FttF has a number of partners and recognises that more co-ordination and communication is needed to deliver effectively.
CALLP involved eight community groups, three private landowners and three national NGOs. While this did make the project complex, it was important to ensure that the community as a whole was working collaboratively together, which has had lasting benefits.
11 Design a robust project plan, with project evaluation built in from the start
Having a clear understanding of what success of your project looks like and agreeing how you are going to monitor progress towards that, will help partners see progress and respond to issues preventing progress as soon as the project commences. This Landscape Action Plan template developed by the Soil Association can be helpful. What may be possible will depend on funding, so you may need to be adaptable.
CC has a 9-point Restoration Monitoring Plan which covers three species/habitat indicators; three ecosystem service indicators and three societal indicators.
Project evaluation built in from the start is a requirement from some funders i.e. Heritage Lottery Fund, which FttF found useful.
GC found there was unexpected costs once the project got underway – e.g. windblown trees made unstable by the rhododendron removal work needed to be removed; land thought to be on the National Forest Estate turned out to be privately owned. Detailed project planning and a good contingency can help to mitigate against this risk.
GC found that it was useful to avoid fixing the boundaries of the project to early on - some flexibility is needed when planning the project and there is a need also to identify core zones and buffer zones.
12 Prepare your exit/transition strategy early
For projects with fixed-term funding it’s important to plan ahead to ensure that the elements of the project are in place well before the project finishes, and there is a plan of how the various partners will work together once the funded project ends. Build legacy into your plan.
In FttF the project officer secured alternative employment before the end which meant that project partners had to resource the delivery of the final elements and oversee project closure.
In GC the Community Council will continue to champion the project and also seek to expand the geographic scope. Local staff from partner organisations will support community members who have been given the necessary training and equipment to carry on with the longer-term maintenance phase which is necessary for invasives removal.
Contact
If you have experience in developing landscape-scale projects and would like to add your learning to this document, or have any other comments or questions, please get in touch:
Julie Stoneman
Saving Scotland’s Rainforest Project Manager
julie.stoneman@plantlife.org.uk
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Malcolm Turner of Woodland Trust Scotland who carried out the original research that formed the basis for this document; the organisations that contributed their learnings and partners of the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest who provided valuable comments on the draft.
ASR Landscape-scale Focus projects
One of the main objectives of the ASR is the development of a suite of landscape-scale projects across Scotland’s rainforest zone, which will help restore and expand this globally important habitat. As such it has “adopted” a number of “Focus Projects” (see https://savingscotlandsrainforest.org.uk/projects).
These projects fulfil a set of criteria (see below) and ASR partner organisations are committed to work collaboratively to make them happen, regardless which organisation is leading a particular project.
An ASR Landscape-scale Focus Project will aspire to be an exemplar for rainforest restoration, working to ASR guidance on rainforest habitat management and community engagement and will:
Have a named person belonging to the lead organisation for the project, who will have a direct connection with ASR (eg via the ASR Landscape-scale Projects Group)
Be formally approved as a project by the lead organisation, at the appropriate level
Be at a scale at which there is an opportunity to deliver real and lasting benefits – for example at a catchment or other recognisable landscape unit level
Restoration, protection and expansion of the rainforest is a major element of the project
Be a collaborative project between two or more project partners
Have the potential to be an exemplar of how rainforest can be restored or managed, in order to help achieve the objectives of the ASR strategy.
