This project focuses on the question of landownership in Scotland and how ownership influences the value of natural capital and associated ecosystem service flows. In contemporary Britain, land ownership is concentrated into the hands of a wealthy elite. In Scotland, the pattern is even more unequal: it is estimated that half of the nation’s land is owned by 432 individuals. The latest estimate of Scotland's population is 5,327,000, so half of a fundamental resource for the country is owned by 0.008% of the population. Land reform is a prominent and current political debate in Scotland, with arguments focusing on the pros and cons of a historically concentrated ownership structure.
A key argument put forward by opponents of the land reform agenda is that most estate owners are good stewards, and so concentrated ownership leads to sustainable management of the land and natural resources. As landowners these “Green Lairds” have the control and capacity to implement and enforce conservation initiatives on their estates, and make a significant contribution to Scotland’s environmental targets. Policymakers increasingly use an ecosystem services framework in decision-making: if landowners can demonstrate that their land management activities increase stocks of natural capital and the associated flows of environmental benefits from their land, this will justify the existing pattern of concentrated land ownership.