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The Push-Me-Pull-You of Forest Devolution in Scotland
Bill Ritchie and Mandy Haggith
Paper presented at the Decentralization, Federal Systems in
Forestry and National Forest Programs – Interlaken Workshop, Switzerland
27th to 30th April 2004
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The ‘push down’ of power through the process of devolution and
decentralisation and the ‘pull down’ of power through action on the
ground is reaching an exciting stage in Scotland, especially in relation to the
national forest estate. This is happening within a political context of
devolution in the United Kingdom, with the establishment of the Scottish
Parliament in 1999 and control of Scotland’s forest estate passing to the
Scottish Executive (government in Scotland).
This paper outlines both the
political ‘push down’ and the people’s ‘pull down’ of power and
tells the story of the people’s movement to get access to land and natural
resources, including forest resources. This movement has led to a Land Reform
Act giving communities the right to acquire ownership of land, including
woodlands, and to the establishment of over 100 community woodland
organisations. It has strongly influenced cultural and organisational changes
within the national forest and rural development institutions. The paper shows
how local (sometimes radical) efforts to pull down power can shape the
decentralisation process at the national level.
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The Governments of Indonesia and Switzerland organised
and co-hosted the Interlaken Workshop in support of the
United
Nations Forum on Forests.
Technical support was provided by the
Centre for
International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and
Intercooperation (Switzerland)
For further information the authors can be contacted
at: Worldforests, 95 Achmelvich, Lochinver, Sutherland, Scotland
IV27 4JB. E-mail: bill@worldforests.org