Four voices, one question: Part 1
As part of our ScotLand Futures initiative, the Scottish Land Commission is asking what would it mean to complete Scotland’s land reform journey.
Alongside our public engagement work, we’ve invited a range of contributors with deep and diverse experience of land, nature, and community to share their vision for the future. These blogs offer bold ideas, critical questions, and grounded reflections on the challenges and opportunities ahead. Together, they form a series of thought pieces intended to inform, inspire, and spark debate.
Contributors:
Dr Deborah Long
Dr Deborah Long is Chief Officer at Scottish Environment LINK. She has a long history of working on environmental issues, with previous roles at Plantlife Scotland and the GROW Observatory. She has held several leadership positions within LINK, focusing on wildlife and land policy.
Read Dr Deborah Long's contribution
Dee Ward
Dee Ward is Chair of Scottish Land & Estates and runs Rottal Estate in the Angus Glens, a mixed upland estate focused on biodiversity, traditional land uses, and environmental restoration. He has a background in business and also chairs Wildlife Estates Scotland and the Angus Glens Moorland Group.
Watch Dee Ward's contribution
Dr John Watt
Dr John Watt OBE has worked across the Highlands and Islands for nearly 40 years. He helped establish the Community Land Unit at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, chaired the Scottish Land Fund for nine years, and served as vice chair of the Land Reform Review Group. He is currently a Board member of Community Land Scotland.
Read Dr John Watt's contribution
Morag Paterson
Morag Paterson is an environmental photographer and campaigner based in Dumfries and Galloway. She co-founded The Clear Light, a creative environmental project, and works on land justice and nature restoration through collaboration, advocacy, and storytelling.
Read Morag Paterson's contribution
These four contributions offer just a glimpse of the rich, complex questions at the heart of Scotland’s land reform journey, but the conversation doesn’t stop here. We want to hear from you. What do you think a fair and effective system of land ownership and use should look like? Share your views through our ScotLand Futures public survey, open until 6 September.
We’ll publish the next group of contributions in August, continuing to explore fresh perspectives on land, power, nature, and community.
