I was invited to speak at the University of Edinburgh Environment and Development Network meeting on March 30th by Dr Sam Staddon who has also done research in the Cairngorms. It was a well-attended event and the discussion from the panel and the audience was stimulating. Here is a link to the presentation: https://csfl.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-04/Land%20for%20what%3F%20Land%20for%20whom%3F.pdf
I was particularly taken with the views put forward by Willie McGhee, one of the panelists, who stressed that the way forward for the conflicts I discuss in my book is community ownerhip.
His biography shows the wealth of experience he has. From: http://www.forestpolicygroup.org/about/who-we-are/
Willie is a forester who has worked in community forestry and ecological restoration in Scotland since 1990. He works with the Highland Perthshire Communities Land Trust (HPCLT) as Forest Manager for 1,000 acres of land at Dun Coillich and is a partner in a forestry ownership collective at Old Caberston in the Scottish Borders. He is a Director of the Common Ground Association, a community land body, working to protect and manage green space for the common good in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
He, like the people I mention in my book, are really making a difference for the well-being of the land and communities.
Land for What? Land for Whom? 