The power of the research process: co-producing knowledge for sustainable upland estate management in Scotland

This thesis developed and piloted a suite of sustainability indicators for assessing the extent to which upland estate management in Scotland delivers sustainability goals. In Scotland, upland areas have a unique pattern of land ownership, with much of the land divided into ‘estates’ owned by private individuals and organisations, public bodies, and non-governmental and community organisations.<br/><br/>Upland estate management objectives and land uses are wide-ranging - agriculture, forestry, nature conservation, property and sporting interests – set<br/>within discourses of sustainability and multifunctionality and also including new<br/>developments in tourism, renewable energy and biodiversity conservation. The<br/>complexity of upland estate management presents a great challenge, both<br/>theoretically and practically.<br/><br/>To tackle this complexity, indicators were developed using a transdisciplinary<br/>research approach, combining academic and non-academic knowledge within a<br/>deliberative research process to address a ‘real world’ problem. A conceptual<br/>framework guided the adaptation of the Delphi technique so that the indicators<br/>were selected in a manner which: (1) increased transdisciplinary capacity; (2)<br/>facilitated knowledge integration; and (3) enhanced the potential for social<br/>learning. Using the adapted technique, the researcher facilitated an anonymous,<br/>iterative research process that took place over four rounds, and involved a mixed<br/>panel of individuals who comprised expertise in sustainability, rural and upland<br/>land use, and estate management. A contemporary and consensual definition of<br/>‘sustainable upland estate management’ was developed by the panel, through the identification of five ‘sustainable estate principles’ (Adapting Management;<br/>Broadening Options; Ecosystem Thinking; Linking into Social Fabric; Thinking<br/>beyond the Estate) and 16 corresponding indicators (‘opportunities for<br/>sustainable estates’) within a ‘Sustainable Estates Toolkit’. The anonymous nature of the process created a safe environment for open dialogue and the researcher played an active role in stimulating participant motivation, creativity and learning.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (awarded by OU/Aberdeen)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral Thesis

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Edinburgh

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Glass, Jayne

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Price, Martin Francis
• Scott, Alister

• land reform
• Scotland
• property
• sustainable development
• participation
• transdisciplinarity
• social learning

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/1924f054-1d11-41f5-a30b-55c6e9f823b9

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/1924f054-1d11-41f5-a30b-55c6e9f823b9