Overview

The Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) provides a platform for collaborative decision making for integrated, sustainable land use in the region.  It oversees the implementation of the Regional Land Use Framework (RLUF) and reports at a strategic level to the Regional Economic Partnership (REP).

The South of Scotland is leading the way in natural capital innovation. Officially designated as Scotland’s Natural Capital Innovation Zone (NCIZ) by the Deputy First Minister in October 2024, this region is uniquely positioned to deliver transformative change for people, nature, and the economy, with the RLUP as a key delivery route.

The NCIZ has been established to accelerate solutions to the twin global challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change aiming to deliver a climate and nature positive future.  It acts as a catalyst for:

• Innovative natural capital projects
• Responsible and sustainable investment
• Collaborative partnerships
• Scalable solutions that deliver a wellbeing economy

The NCIZ is an enabler, building on our abundant natural capital, strong cross-sector partnerships and harnessing a bold, entrepreneurial spirit of innovation.  It is underpinned by three principles:

• Circular economy
• Community Benefit / Community Wealth Building
• Using creativity to bring about culture change

Together, these strengths make the South of Scotland a living laboratory and learning hub for landscape scale nature-based solutions and a launchpad for sustainability and knowledge sharing.

Gap the project addresses

The RLUP will help support the decision-making process for sustainable land use in the South of Scotland, delivering a fair, green and flourishing region aligned with the remit of the REP.  It aims to:

• address the strategic economic issues of the South of Scotland through effective partnership work
• ensure that collectively, partner capacities and resources are harnessed to maximum effect
• bring together stakeholders from across the area under a common purpose to drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the South of Scotland.

Ownership model

Membership of RLUP consists of public body, land use and community representation from either side of the South of Scotland region, with a Chair appointed from within the RLUP membership.  Membership has been extended from the pilot phase to include additional community and social enterprise representatives and Youth Advisory Forum members. There is flexibility in the structure to allow for expertise to be drawn in when needed, and providing community representatives with support to deliver an effective voice.

Policy mechanisms

As part of the national initiative, the Scottish Government team has been progressing ongoing discussions within various policy areas, notably agricultural reform, biodiversity, forestry, peatland, renewable energy, housing, Local Development Plans, Regional Economic Partnerships, Regional Adaptation Partnerships and Climate Action Hubs.  Therefore, it is anticipated that the RLUP will act as a bridge between national policy and local engagement, to enable greater collaboration, improved communication and more effective alignment and delivery of policy.

Funding

Through the 2024/5 RLUP funding grant, four delivery projects were initiated to progress priority actions in the RLUF:

• Scoping study: Towards a State of Nature report for the South of Scotland by the Environmental Alliance for the South of Scotland (EASOS)
• Nith Catchment Source to Sea Framework by Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere and LUC
• Scoping study: An Action Plan for Peatland Restoration & Management in the South of Scotland by the Crichton Carbon Centre and Tweed Forum
• Development of a Natural Capital Innovation Plan for the Lyne Water Catchment by Tweed Forum

Funding contributions have also been made to the Natural Capital Community Partnership project led by Community Land Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Land Commission.  This national initiative seeks to support community wealth building from natural capital investment, with an adviser recently appointed, hosted by SOSE, and with a focus on forestry opportunities.

Contribution to just transition

The NCIZ, through the RLUP, is working to deliver several of the National Just Transition Outcomes weighing up the multiple and sometimes competing demands on our land, understanding the tensions and trade-offs and ultimately identifying the right land use changes in the right places to meet society’s needs in a sustainable, equitable and efficient way.  Whilst the RLUF is a region wide initiative, it is now entering the deliver stage through a place-based approach, empowering communities and enabling them to engage with decision makers, influence design solutions and increase local impact.  Through our ambition to achieve a climate and nature positive future, projects are being established to restore and enhance our natural environment and build climate resilience into our businesses and communities through nature-based solutions.  These approaches, and the requirement for innovation, research and development and technological solutions offer significant opportunities for entrepreneurship, new employment, upskilling and training.

Lessons Learned

Decisions about land use change can be highly sensitive and enforce polarised views and the RLUP was the first opportunity to facilitate these discussions in a place-based setting.  Bringing together people with different views and perceptions, in a constructive way, takes time to develop trust and should not be rushed, it takes considerable resource to ensure effective collaboration.  The long-term impact of land use change also makes it critical than young people are engaged in the process and, essentially, feel they have an equal impact with other participants.  Participants also need to know there is a clear route to impact on the ground, which embedding the RLUP into the Regional Economic Strategy and the NCIZ provides in the South of Scotland.

Replication and Scaling

The South of Scotland RLUF is the first one of its kind and offers a unique opportunity to explore both challenges and opportunities and share that learning across Scotland and beyond, replicating and scaling up best practice for the establishment of the Wellbeing Economy.

Working conditions and fair work practices

Featured organisations and initiatives were asked to supply the following information regarding working conditions:

• Alignment with Scottish Government Fair Work First criteria
• If they have gone beyond Fair Work First by incorporating broader values on fair work
• For larger organisations, whether a union recognition agreement is in place.

This did not apply to co-operatives structures and membership-based initiatives, though all projects and initiatives were given room to provide any detail on fair work practices deemed relevant.