Scotland’s Landscape Alliance launches ‘Landscape and Place for Success’ – 28.09.2020
Last April, over 60 national organisations attended our launch event. Discussion and commitment at the event led to the creation of three working groups who took on the challenge of developing responses to three recommendations from the SLA to;
- Increase Scotland’s resilience to climate change and associated environmental challenges
- Improve the health and wellbeing of people in Scotland and reduce health inequalities
- Support integrated land uses and deliver inclusive growth in Scotland’s economy
A constant challenge for landscape policy makers is to make sense of the interconnected nature of the drivers of change and how we all use and benefit from the landscapes and places that we live in and visit. There is no single right and wrong answer but there are key principles, enshrined within the European Landscape Convention, which can guide our decision making. Fundamentally it recognises the cultural value of landscapes and the benefits that protected, well managed and planned landscapes can bring to individuals and society.
Much has happened in the world over recent months and much more change is on the immediate horizon. The climate emergency, biodiversity crisis, Brexit and the Covid-19 health pandemic all have implications for how our landscapes are, will be and could be managed. We have seen an upsurge in appreciation and use of outdoor spaces and the value that quality greenspaces have for our mental and physical wellbeing.
More than ever, this is a moment to take stock and appreciate the contribution that our landscapes and places play in the health of our nation and their essential contribution to Scotland’s National Outcomes and a Green Recovery.
The SLA have collaborated to produce a Call for Action – Landscape and Place for Success. This document highlights our Vison, recommendations for change and 10 outcomes including the ongoing actions of the SLA and what we would like stakeholders to do to support these outcomes.
We hope that our work to date acts as a stimulus for debate and catalyst for change. We know that some of the challenges we have identified are not easy and we don’t have all the answers to hand. The next stage of our journey is to encourage debate to find those solutions. We are planning to do this at an online event on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the European Landscape Convention and International Landscape Day on 20th October.
