‘Rewilding the Scottish Highlands: a taxonomy of wild land discourses’

Holly Deary, Dr Charles Warren, Dr Rob McMorran

‘Restoring the Highlands’

• Multi-dimensional nature of ‘wild land’

• Different land managers, different parameters

Disparate rewilding frameworks

Research aims …..the importance of understanding these ‘wilding trajectories’

• To develop a taxonomy of wild land discourses

• To establish a conceptual framework for understanding the complexity of Scotland’s wild land movement

• To examine how these wild land discourses interface with one another and with other environmental discourses

What is Q-methodology

• Social sciences research method• Exploring subjectivity (i.e. viewpoint)• Exploring statistical relationships between viewpoints • Form of factor analysis

A way of defining discourses which frame participants views: provides a relative set of

evaluations for each respondent

How important are the following statements in accordance with your vision

for wild land?Most important …………. Least important

Wild land Q-Sorts

• Each and every Q-sort is correlated with one another, then subject to centroid factor analysis

Factor Arrays

• Three distinct factors• Absolute normalised Z scores converted to relative rankings

to highlight areas of consensus and discordance• Red represents greatest area of variance between factors, grey

statements are those with greatest consensus

Distinguishing statements: profile 1

  Distinguishing Statements for factor 1 Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3

4. Promoting natural processes 1.52 (3) 0.69 (1) 0.62 (1)

32. The intrinsic value of nature 1.39 (2) 0.53 (1) -0.34 (-1)

11. Enhancing the experiential sense of wildness 1.08 (2) 0.00 (0) 0.07 (0)

1. Reintroduction of extirpated species 0.41 (1) -1.70 (-2) -1.63 (-2)

12. Removing human artefacts 0.39 (0) -2.08 (-3) -1.09 (-2)

25. A sustainable future 0.18 (0) 1.53 (3) 1.23 (2)

29. An authentic landscape -0.36 (0) -1.70 (-2) 1.08 (2)

18. Providing sporting opportunities -1.94 (-3) -0.19 (-1) 0.01 (0)

20. Ensuring the land is productive -2.00 (-3) 0.03 (0) -0.96 (-1)

….statements concerning experiential wildness/landscape….statements concerning socio-economics

Taxonomy themes• Strength of Q-methodology in its integration of

quantitative and qualitative data

• Rationalising ‘why’ the Q-sort is sorted that way

• Holistic understanding of the nature of these profiles

• Establishment of taxonomic themes

Taxonomy themesi. Ecological parameters

“[…] moving from the human domination of the ecosystems to one in which natural processes prevail” (Profile 1 estate)

“[…] allow the land to achieve its full ecological potential – making it as ecologically productive as we can” (Profile 2 estate)

“We do and will continue to do a lot of specific management specifically for mountain ringlet because it is a key species” (Profile 3 estate)

Taxonomy themesii. Historical fidelity

“We are completely relaxed about the endpoint” (Profile 1 estate)

“We’re concerned with going forwards rather than going backwards” (Profile 2 estate)

Interpretation: Taxonomy themes

iii. The place of cultural heritage and valuing ‘tradition’

“Ignoring the cultural heritage is not something which sits comfortably with somebody who has a Highland history” (P3 estate)

“Wild land should never mean the exclusion of people, especially in a landscape with such a rich cultural history” (P2 estate)

[…] crofting can have some quite extensive benefits for lapwings in terms of having areas of shorter grass after grazing” (P2 estate)

“Wild land should be devoid of human influence, so how can we incorporate or preserve the cultural landscape?” (P1 estate)

Interpretation: Taxonomy themes

iv. Sustainability and a place for people

“It doesn’t need humans to go and experience it for it to be wild. People can experience but it’s not a pre-requisite” (P1 estate)

“We do want the land to be productive in the sense of employment and sporting issue” (P2 estate)

“People need to realise and recognise that this can’t be done without people” (P2 estate)

“Commercial forestry interests are very much going to produce an economic surplus, and that allows management of other areas” (P3 estate)

The wild land profiles

‘The wilderness enhancers’:

restoring the land

‘Semi-naturalness’: restoring a natural

ecology

‘Historical and cultural wildness’:

restoring the Highlands

• Natural processes, • Intrinsic value of nature, • Experiential quality of wildness,

“[...] letting nature decide what to do. In

most cases this will take us to a state that existed

before man started overexploiting the

natural capital – so in many ways it will be

going back to the future”

• Restoration of native woodland, • Ecosystem resilience, • Sustainability,

“...we should not seek to hold anything in stasis,

or even attempt to recreate past situations [...] Instead we should

look at the positive aspects of our

landscapes now, and seek to strengthen and

enhance them for maximum ecological and

social benefit”

• Cultural heritage, • Sustainability, • Natural regeneration

“[...] caring for what we’ve got; appreciating

and understanding through knowledge of

the story of how it got to be what it is and

recognising what is valuable in

that....looking after that, but also looking forward and accepting the new

and using the best of the old to build the best for

the future”

SummaryVision of wild land........ Aspirations Management approach

P1.‘Nature’s autonomy & experiential

wildness’

“[wild land as]...an area of land where natural processes prevail.....and where the full complement of species are present and

natural processes prevail”

 

.....a self-regulating autonomous nature,

.....a perceptually ‘wilder’ landscape,

.....ecological functionability & resilience

‘Let it be’

Non-interference,

Minimal intervention (although ‘corrective intervention’ is justifiable),

Landscape restoration (i.e. removing human artefacts)

P2.‘Naturalness/ecosystem health’

 

“[wild land as] an area of semi-naturalness – ‘a natural ecology’”

 

 

 

....semi-natural landscapes,

....a natural, fully-functioning ecology,

.....‘future naturalness’

....integrated land uses and sustainability

‘Wild by design’

Landscape-scale restorative intervention,

On-going management intervention,

Directive, sensitive, management

P3.‘Historic authenticity’

 

“[wild land as a] Capability Brown [...] where one can get an experience this wild

feeling and where the contributions of historical, traditional practices to that sense

of wildness are recognised” 

 

.....historical continuity,

......authenticity,

.....safeguarding perceptual wildness,

.....community ‘buy in’ and sustainability

Sustainable land management

Sensitive extractive practices,

Conventional conservation practices,

Community engagement

The point? The significance?

• Recognising that wild land, and thus wilding, means radically different things to different land managers/owners

• Continuum concepts: Scotland’s ‘wild land ethos’

• Land owners drive change

Thank you