Individuals and organisations across Scotland are being called upon to take practical steps to help shape the future of the country’s landscapes.
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has today (8 October) published a ground-breaking Landscape Charter for Scotland.
The charter was drawn up by the Scottish Landscape Forum (see Notes). It is in keeping with the European Landscape Convention, which affirms the value of the continent’s landscapes to the well-being of its citizens.
The charter calls on communities, land managers, developers, local authorities, public bodies and non-government organisations to recognise the responsibilities and opportunities they have to shape the country’s landscapes, through management, investment and long-term custodianship. It asks them to support the charter’s vision and commit themselves to the action it proposes.
Individuals, communities and non-government organisations are asked to look around their local area, celebrate its identity and become involved in making it a better place.
Land managers are encouraged to take pride in their work in maintaining the distinctive character and regional identity of rural Scotland.
Developers are urged to meet best practice standards, and ensure new development enhances landscapes and townscapes, and results in high quality surroundings.
And local authorities, public agencies and government departments are asked to make sure respect for the landscape is at the heart of decision-making, and to support action by local communities to achieve this.
More than a dozen organisations and groups have already signed up to the charter, including the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association, the Royal Town Planning Institute and the National Trust for Scotland.
Speaking at the launch, Professor Keith Nicholson, SNH board member, said: “Landscape is a huge asset to Scotland’s economy, our culture and the health and wellbeing of the population. We need to manage that asset in a way that safeguards it for future generations as well as benefiting the current generation. That will take widespread recognition and agreement on what landscape needs and what we need from it today, and in the future. And that’s what this charter is about. Working together we can make more of the landscapes that we have inherited; for our economy, our health and our sense of identity.”
The five principles of the charter, intended to guide future action, are:
* All landscapes are important and everyone has a right to live in and enjoy the benefits of high quality surroundings.
* Our landscapes are a shared asset and everyone has a responsibility for looking after them to high standards, to make sure each part of Scotland maintains its own distinctive sense of place.
* Landscapes change but change needs to be managed, to ensure the character and quality of the landscape is respected in all land management and development decisions.
* Better awareness of the diversity, distinctiveness, history and character of our landscapes is needed, so that all action affecting them is based on sound understanding.
* Shaping tomorrow’s landscapes requires a forward-looking approach to national and local policy that involves people in decisions about change to the character and quality of their surroundings.