Delivering community benefits from nature: what we’ve learned so far

The Community benefits from nature project has been up and running for almost a year. During this time we have begun to work with three landowners and the communities local to their estates to agree and deliver community benefits. Alongside this, we have gathered learning, engaged key stakeholders across Scotland pioneering new approaches, and established a close working relationship with Advisers through the Natural Capital and Community Partnerships project. 

As we look forward to a year of delivery on the ground Annabel Davidson Knight, Community Benefits from Nature Adviser, working in partnership with the Cairngorms National Park Authority, reflects on what we have learned so far and what might come next.

Land is a finite resource, yet we rely on it to provide so much of what we need – space for our homes, the businesses and services we run or rely on, our food and water, our sense of belonging and cultural connection with the natural world around us – and much more besides. Balancing how land is used across private, public and community interests has always been complex, and that complexity is increasing as land use shifts to respond to the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.  

Scotland is already leading the way in creating ambitious nature restoration projects and experimenting with a wide range of ways to pay for this work. These include private investment through carbon credits or from businesses interested in protecting the natural resources they rely on. All of this is happening against the backdrop of land reform and community empowerment which adds a uniquely Scottish flavour to models emerging, distinct to other parts of the UK where there is not the same pattern or history of concentrated ownership.

What do we mean by community benefits?

Like all things, ‘community’, the term ‘community benefit’ can be a little mystifying. Does this mean funding, like it does with renewables? What does this mean in practice? It is clear that expectations of benefits from natural capital projects do not equate to expectations from renewables projects, where income is ongoing and (relatively) predictable. The same cannot be said for natural capital investment and uncertainty in the market and the fluctuating carbon price only emphasises that difference. Regardless of the future, the two sectors and their income models work differently. 

Being clear about the kinds of benefits achievable makes all the difference. We have identified four key themes which have been useful in stimulating ideas:  

1. Local wealth building – how land operations, employment, contracting, procurement and the retention of value from products can be kept in the local area
2. Land access and use – for housing and business, for new entrants to growing schemes as well as opportunities for projects and joint ventures for wellbeing, cultural heritage and more
3. Funding and finance – from sharing of profits, to provision of grants or low/peppercorn leases
4. Power and governance – providing greater decision-making powers to local communities underpinned by new governance mechanisms; agreements, Memoranda of Understanding and more.

Communities and landowners working together

Recent legislation places growing emphasis on the importance of communities of place deriving benefits from landholdings local to them and being properly engaged in decisions made about their management which may impact them. We are also seeing a range of examples of how landowners and communities are working together for mutual benefit. 

That is demonstrated by the variety of landowners who have agreed to collaborate with communities through this project – from a private natural capital estate, to an environmental Non-Governmental Organisation, to a public landowner. Across this diversity there are some common reflections to share.

First, this way of working is not yet the norm. While there are some great case studies out there of community benefits it is fair to say that the kind of relationship building, and collaborative identification of opportunities between communities and landowners on a more equitable basis feels new to all parties involved. Communities aren’t used to being asked ‘what do you want from the land around you?’ and standard consultations around land use do not require this level of collaboration from landowners, so it is inevitably quite new to many. 

There can be all sorts of mutual benefits for landowners and communities to work this way but even starting the conversation in the right way can be an initial barrier. Thankfully, we are seeing a real openness to working differently and ambition for what can be done together. Where trust is built early, new opportunities begin to emerge, from joint ventures and local employment to improved skills, stronger relationships and greater retention of value within local areas.

Skills, capacity and resourcing matter

A second clear lesson is the ongoing need for training and investing in skills to deliver quality community engagement and benefit work. This is a quietly increasing demand we are hearing across the network of advisers, not only from landowners who may not have the experience nor dedicated resource for community liaison, but also project developers who are tasked with designing and delivering nature restoration activity wanting to enhance the impact of what they deliver for the local geographic communities. We must not forget too that many communities are under resourced and it is unrealistic for them to do this work ad infinitum as volunteers.

Looking ahead

So, what’s next for this second year of delivery? Activity is really getting under way and we will be helping to support the development of agreements that will underpin clear and deliverable community benefit plans for each of the sites where we are working. 

More broadly, there are wider strategic opportunities for embedding community participation and benefit as the norm in nature restoration projects - particularly those operating at landscape scale. 

We will also continue to bring together communities, project developers and landowners across the country doing this work to share their insights and inspire many more to start on the journey. Keep an eye on our community benefits from nature project page as we share resources, insights and news of events or you can email Annabel at annabel.davidson@landcommission.gov.scot  if you’d like to find out more.