Envisioning future landscapes in the Environmentally Sensitive Areas of Scotland

Citation

Simpson I, Parsisson D, Hanley N & Bullock CH (2006) Envisioning future landscapes in the Environmentally Sensitive Areas of Scotland. In: Lozny L (ed.) Landscapes Under Pressure: Theory and Practice of Cultural Heritage Research and Preservation. New York: Springer, pp. 115-134. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/0-387-28461-3_7

Abstract
First paragraph: Over the past decade and stimulated in part by the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, there have been major shifts in the perception of land, its use and its management. Increasingly, land is no longer viewed simply as resource to be developed for economic activity but is seen as an asset to maintained and improved for the well-being of present and future generations. Furthermore, land is also seen in a wider context as an essential part of the political, social and cultural fabric and of ecological balance (United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, 2000). With new perceptions of land, come new challenges for environmental policy makers concerned with the use of land resources and their management. In addition to the conventional foundations for environmental policy formulation based on observed evidence, policy makers are increasingly required to consider future landscape scenarios, incorporate the views of local and national communities, and ensure that decisions have a sound economic rationale. Integrating these different dimensions within land resources policy formulation is a difficult task, although not impossible given new land resource data bases, modelling approaches and increasing political environmental diplomacy across international boundaries.