Just as the limits of The First Great Wood of Caledon are vague in both time and

space, so in this Manifesto the bounds of 'The Highlands' to which it refers and
'The Second Great Wood' which it envisions have been deliberately left imprecisely
defined. Its application to the Islands, both Hebridean and Northern, is directly
related to the extent of and form in which The Great Wood survived or could be
recreated thereon today. The great variations in local climate and soils between
islands make it pointless to draw definite boundaries on a map. For the purposes of
this Manifesto The Scottish Highlands may be taken to refer to a biographical
region extending northwards from The Highland Boundary Fault (running from the
mouth of the Clyde to Stonehaven). Within this region lying along the east coast can
be found some of Scotland's best agricultural land (as well as the region's principal
centres of human population). The Manifesto is principally concerned with the
great proportion of the land mass of the Highlands lying west of this narrow strip.

This Manifesto was conceived as a constructive contribution to the debate on

Highland Development. At the very least, we hope that it provides some pertinent
information and fuels some less conventional, less moribund thinking on the subject
of Highland land-use and the possible futures we could choose.

Produced by the Land-Use Working Group of the

Highland Green Party, May 1989.
There is fresh debate about the future of the rural Highlands of Scotland to which
this Manifesto is addressed: in particular there is exciting new vigour and interest in
the small farming and crofting way of life.
We have seen three Development Programmes undertaken for the rural Highlands
and Islands recently and in such a disadvantaged region these have not been
unwelcome. But the big questions still seem to remain about the long-term futu re:
• Are current measures likely to give enough hope and lasting reinvigoration of rural
economies to hold young people within them? Will they ensure the survival of local
schools, shops and other basic facilities? More than this, will they actively promote the
development of new ones within the context of a thriving population?

• Do these Development Programmes represent anything significantly more than

unimaginative, stop-gap grant packages that experience tells us merely undermine
creativity and self-reliance in the long term and circumscribe too closely the possible
areas of improvement and development?

• Is anyone taking on the responsibility of developing the truly diverse and inte-
grated ways of managing the Highlands' vast natural resources of land and water which
we need to deliver us from the present emphasis on single industries and forms of land
use which bring whole communities into their dependence.

• Will the various Highland Authorities get their act together quickly enough to
prevent the wholesale conversion of the Highlands to a blanket conifer monoculture
owned and managed by people who do not live in the region?

MANY PEOPLE ARE WORRIED THAT THE ANSWER TO THESE

QUESTIONS MIGHT BE NO ... IF YOU ARE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE
THEN THIS MANIFESTO SHOULD INTEREST YOU.

3
 "Britain hasoneofthemost extensive anddocumented histories of deforestation of any countryin theworld. Indeedthe
story of how we lost our forests is virtually the same as the history of our island race."1

Only just over one thousand years ago a vast primeval forest extended across the whole of Highland Scotland
reaching up even into the higher corries and down to the western seaboard. It had evolved over a period of 8000 years
since the frozen ice sheets of the last great Ice Age drew away north . In the east and central Highlands it was
dominated by pinewoods and birch for the whole of that long period, in the West a more purely deciduous element of
birch, oak and hazel had tende d to replace pine in the latter stages. In total, the forest was very rich in plant and
animal species and the soils which it had helped to build were protected and nourished by their dense covering of
trees . This was the Great Wood of Caledon.
Though Neolithic Man had probably removed some trees for agricultural purposes by about 3500 years ago, these
incursions into the Great Wood were not hing compared with the Vikin g's impact between AD800 and 1100. What
they did not take away for building houses and boats they burnt in warfare, though there yet remained great tracts of
virgin forest for another 500 years .
Between 1600 and 1750 there was a further period of particularly severe forest destruction in the west Highlands
by the iron smelters from the south. This ended by about 1815 by which time the Great Wood was already devastated
and fragmented; the forest of the eastern Highlands having been felled principally for timber. Nevertheless, even
then a few areas of Scots Pine remained and some glens still had their patches of predominantly birch woodland . The
last wolf did not disappear from these until as late as 1743. Before it the last beaver had been exterminated in the 15th
or 16th century, the last elk at the beginning of the 14th, reindeer in the 12th or 13th and the last bear in the 9th or
10th century.
By the 18th centu ry cattle had become the mainstay of the Highland economy along with mixed arable crofting
and, on the coasts , the herring . Late that century, as the openhillsides were beginning to be claimed as 'deer forests '
for the sole use and pleasure of the new breed oflaird , resentment between sporting landow ners and their tenants was
stirring. What hap pened at the end of that century tore the heart out of the Highlands as it tore the people from the
land and sounded the death kn ell for a way of life, a way of husbandry, indeed a whole ecology. The Coming of the
Sheep and the ensuing Clearances were a catastrophe from both hu man and ecological standpoints. The new patterns
of settlement, or rather dep opulation, are with us today as is the legacy of a virt ual single-animal monoculture: an
almost comp lete deforestation and what can only be described as the [mal round of vegetation and soil degeneration.
T he coming of the sheep almost completed the story of forest removal. The last remnants of woodland were felled
or so heavily grazed under.that they could not regenerate. The mismanaged, over-populous red deer contributed to
the grazing pressure on poten tially regenerating woods. The trees that had built , nourished and protected Highland
soils over those 8000 years were destroyed in a small fraction of that time. In the high rainfall of the region, the
removal of forest led to a rapid loss of nutrients and waterlogging, a proce ss tha t continues in the uplands to this day
under grazing and bur ning regimes which take continuously from the land, never giving anything back .

4
VI I VUI \;;taHUIY, UIC la:5l CIK at urc UC~UHHU~ VI urc l"tUl, reinuccr UI urc 1~111 01' 1.:HIl auu LIlt: la:5L oear IU LIlt: ::nIl or
10th cenairy.
~y the, 18th century cattle had bec?me the mainst~y of th~. ~~g~.land eco.no~y along ~ith. ~ixe~ ar~ble c!oftin~
I Introduction
ABOUT THIS GREEN MANIFESTO

«It is a tenet of the ecologists' approach to land usethat renewable resources should be conservedand managed for a
sustained yield rather than squandered for short-term advantage as has been done in the past."?

The PROLOGUE to this GREEN MANIFESTO tells of the devastation of the original Highland forest, the
destruction of a naturally bestowed and enormously rich potential humanresource. The next section, THE MYTH AND
THE REALITY, demonstrates how this affects what people do today (and their perception of what it is possible to
do), over the greater part of the rural Highlands. It identifies the ecological truths about the way man presently uses
the land, the effects that this is having on the whole ecology of the Highla nds and indicates the probable outcome of
unsatisfactory land uses. These often harsh realities are contrasted with popular and romantic images of the majestic
Highlands.
The core of the Manifesto is a vision of a possible Highland future built on a FOREST ECONOMY through the
recreation of a SECOND GREAT WOOD OF CALE DON: a new economy of great diversity and richness to supply
the needs of a larger population than currently exists in the region with a wider range of employment possibilities,
foods, materials and energy sources. It describes a new environment of great beauty and lasting prosperity . It is a
futu re consistent with the inexorable Greening of the world; a process that represents a redefmition of Man's
relationship with Nature at both a spiritual and pragmatic level.
After the vision come some down-to -earth proposals. Some of these are inevitably of a negative type: the worst
malpractices of land-use and injustices of land ownership must be ended as soon as possible and Greens are not afraid to
pinpoint these . Alongside these negative imperatives stand the positive suggestions , THE FIRST STEPS we could
take right away to move away from these malpractices and injustices and on towards the Greener goals envisaged
within the Second Great Wood of Caledon .
::J::l--~"n"'l--"n" "l--"" ~1 . . .... ;fpC't-A ""AIAll..~rl t-I""\V ~ C n ;l1P pV~Tl'lnlpc;: nf!:ln~ infnrm::ltl0n ::lhOllt c;: im1l::l r nol1cl'es Sf nfece~eHts
Throughout the Mamtesto, co oured. boxes give examp es 0 and. mtormanon about simi ar po IC es 1-' eceUe IS
to those suggested (from both this country and abroad) and help to form a picture of a FOREST ECONOMY. They
demonstrate both the practicality of the Greenprint and how sadly behind many regions of the world Scotland has
become in its planning for the SUSTAI NABLE , POST-INDUSTRIAL, ECOLOGICALLY BASED FUTURE .

" The Highlands and Islands of Scotland have suffered for some hundreds of years by being a second-class
neighbourhood oflittleimportance toa dominant South. Whensouthern government ultimately andbelatedly accepted
its administrative responsibility for the Highlands, the patterns of administration were not those adapted from the
indigenous culture but were those of a quite foreign and-in general urban culture/"

Britain was the first nation to industrialize and can now lead the world into a post industrial civilization. Rather
than being the poor follower of the south in its development, the Highlands has the opportunity to adopt an
ecological strategy and be at the forefront of modem political endeavours: to live off the resources of the planet
without destroying them and to share them justly amongst a population.

5
11 The Myth and the Reality I
". . . more often thannotwe are looking at a man-made desert. Thebare hillside keptbare by burning andthegrazing
of an artificially large stock ofsheep are notwild nature. Thelasnumsequences, thehundreds of thousands of acres of
bracken and deer's hair sedge are not nature but the results of ill treatment of nature . . .,,4

The starting point for a modern land-use strategy must be the ecological realities of past and
present. It is these which must guide the economic development of the region prescribing the
wisest and most sustainable usage of the land.

1.1 The Myth speaks of a natural wild land, but the domain of landownership. The Highland laird yet lives
truth tells of an exceedingly unnatural, biologically on as part of an anachronistic pattern of feudal land-
degraded, physically eroded and denuded near desert. ownership that keeps people from a true fulfillment of
their potentials and the land from becoming that right-
1.2 The Myth speaks of eagles and ospreys, black ful equal source of possible livelihood and pleasure to
throated divers and seals but neglects to tell that these all.
are but the pathetic isolated remnants of a once fabu-
lous abundance of wildlife. What rare creatures still 1.6 The Myth may have its uses to the tourist indus-
remain are often mercilessly persecuted or unneces- try and in the London clubs frequented by absentee
sarily threatened to this day by industrial forester on landlords but it has constantly obstructed a rational
the boglands, by fish-farmer on the coast, by appraisal of the state of the land and economy. This is
gamekeeper in the hills. an essential prerequisite of a lasting prescription for a
vigorous and sustainable land-use economy. It is high
1.3 The Myth tells of hunting stags, shooting grouse time to dismantle the Myth in the true interests of the
and angling for wild salmon. But the truth is that our Highland people; in the interests of forging the basis
red deer are amongst the smallest, feeblest specimens for radical land-use and ownership reforms and
in Europe, our native salmon are dying out only to be plans.
replaced by emasculated, flabb y, farmed imposters and
the ever declining bags of grouse sadly reflect the
dramatic decline in numbers of all our game birds this
century.
1.4 The Myth may teU of a majority of people living
happily off the land on intensively managed crofts, but
the truth is of a region where very little food is grown in
relation to the land area, very little power generated in
relation to the potential natural renewable resources
~
~
and very little timber -grown either as fuel or as building s:
material for the region itself. l
~
1.5 There is really only one area in which the Myth The biologically degraded, physically eroded and treeless wet
would seem to match the Reality and that is in the desert of the Highlands.

lor raurcar lana-usc: anu ownersmp Ct:IUClll~ cUIU

_ MYTH & REALITY

THEREALITY OF HILL-FARMING
1.7 Over the bulk of the land mass of the Highlands
there exists a grazing system peculiar to Scotland; there EMPLOYMENT
is non e oth er in Europe that allows a single beast , the Each sheep needs about two hectares of land on
sheep , virtua l free range of all habitats and altitudes which to graze. That is one shepherd to about 405
and which tolerates such low productivity and high hectares onan unimproved sheepfarm; oneman to40
mortality. Also, taken as a whole, there is no region in hectares on average in present day forestry.
th e EEe more heavily subsidized for uneconomic farm-
ing . Despite this , crofters and farmers in the most
disadvantaged areas of the Highlands find that the
average 'profit' only mor e or less equals the govern-
ment subsidy.

MISMANAGEMEN T
"50% of the two million lambs lost annually in the
uplands of B ritain die due to the effects of
exposure. ,, 5
"Lambingpercentage in many areas is now as low as
50% and up to lf4 of lambs die of hypothermia in a
severe winter with more than one million lost in an
average year." 1 B irchwood withoutregenerationdue to grazingof sheep and deer;

1.8 On a hill-sheep farm one man looks after 200 UNSUSTAINABLE HUSBANDRY
sheep on average. Whether he can do this well is a moot "Crop rotation and the incorporation ofa leguminous
point, but that is the average ratio of sheep to shepherd break are accepted as beneficial but the hill-farmer
in the Highlands and the economics of the industry who practices this system on his arable land fails to
dictate that level. So one man 's livelihood can occupy detect anything wrong with a wholly extractive
about 400 hectares. Hill-sheep farming as practiced in regime on his continuously grazed hillland."2
the Highla nds can only be described as profligate in
its usage of land and dismal in J,its employment of
people.
1.9 The ecological interaction between sheep grazier
and forest is historical fact . Once the remaining woods
were felled to increase the area of grazings (mostly in
the late l Sthand early 19th centu ries), sheep were then
able to pre vent any further regeneratio n of trees by
pressure of numbers. Even woods which were not
felled were, and still are to this day, continuously
grazed so that they die on their feet .

1.10 Without tree canop y to interc ept the h~vy rain -

:::!
~ fall of the region , the soils become rapidly 'leached of
~ their nutrient fund. The more shallowly rooted remain-
~ ing vegetation is unable to bring to he surface what few
'cc::
U
:::l basic elements there might be to derive from an intrin-
~ sically acid bedrock. Heather, moor-grasses and sedges
e
:::l
Cl
therefore only lay down acid humus and , without any
A grazingsystem peculiar toScotland: the sheephave virtualfree artificial addition to the soil-vegetation complex, it
range of all habitats and altitudes. tends towards very low levels of fertility .

7
and torest IS rustoncai tact. Once the rem aining WOOQS
were felled to increase the area of grazings (mostly in
~L _ 1 _ ~ _ 1 O~L ' __ ...1 1_ _ 1 n ..L, ~~_ .... _:~~ \ ~ \.. ~~ ~ . n ~_ ", .. h ""....
_ MYTH & REALITY

HRC STRUCTURE PLAN R E VIE W 1985:

", . . theproductivity of hill grazings hasdiminished
through over-grazing by sheep and indiscriminate
burning."

1.11 Although giving the short-term effect of the

'spring bite ' , the practice of muirburn has exacer-
bated the whole tendency for soils in many areas to
decline in fertility in the long term . N utrients are lost
in both smoke and ash, some of the latt er being re-
I:Q
moved completely by run-off and never re-entering the B;
0:::
nu trient fund. As worrying as this chemical degenera-
M uirburn exacerbates the tendency for soils to decline in fertility
tion are the physical effects of erosion that muirburn
and frequently leads to physical erosion.
can cause when carried out on steep gradients or, too
frequently, anywhere. T hese effects, along with its
tendency to elimin ate heather , are most important in cattle the y are naturally complementary animals. With-
the West under highest rainfall. In such areas this trend out cattle, experie nce has shown that undesirable
will go on reducing the carrying capacity of grazings so plants invade and reduce the quality of grazing s. In
long as muirburn persists. terms of both the efficient utilization and health of
the grazings, the virtual loss of cattle from the High-
land grazing regime represents a great loss of produc-
M UIRBURN tivity and ecological balance.
"Burningshouldnot be toofrequent: in mosthabitats
intervals should not be less than ten years. More 1.13 With a massive amount of hard work, the crof-
frequent burning results in returning toooften to bare ters and hill-farmers of two and more centuries con -
ground . . . introducing risks of loss by erosion and verted areas of ill-drained and infertile hill-land to grow
the spread of unwanted plants. It might also cause sufficient barley, oats and , later , potatoes to feed them-
unnecessary nutrient loss if the intervalbetween fires selves and their stock. Even the best of this cultivated
becomes too short for inputs to exceed losses. " land is now grazed by sheep and its carefully nurtured
" Upland Britain is not often thought of as a region fertility has been lost over the years of dis-use. Its
where erosion is a serious problem, but many hillsides history, though, gives clear evidence of the possibility
show mild or severe symptoms. Often a clue to the of not only growing sufficient winter keep for stock in
results of years of depletion of surface humus is all areas of the region but also of growing considerable
the number of visible boulders or the extent of scree vegetable produce.
on a hillside which would otherwise be heather-
covered.,,6

People whoknow the hills recognize that thetussocks

of deergrass on little islands ofpeat, thecolourofthe
burns af ter rain and the greathaggs areall signs of a
great physical loss of soil that has occurred since the
Great Wood was destroyed, and this is a continuing
process today .

1.12 From being th e most important domestic stock

in the Highland economy in the 18th century, hill cattle
in the uplands have been reduced to just a few scattered
herds. The reasons for the decline have been various:
changes in market forces, shifts in subsidy and the
mo ve away from such intensive forms of husbandry. A f encewith a story: on therightover-grazingand burning leading
Due to the different grazing requirements of sheep and to the beginnings of sheet erosion .

8
- MYTH & REALITY

THE REALITY OF'INDUSTRIAL FORESTRY

As with the Coming of the Sheep, the coming of the Sitka Spruce represents the imposition of
an alien economy on a people and their ecology. Alien softwood monoculture is a travesty of
the word 'forestry', the full extent of its social and ecological implications only now beginning
to be felt and understood. This 'industrial forestry' defies most sane, balanced and sustain-
able silvicultural practice and as such is profoundly unecological and therefore outdated. It
represents the desperate attempt of busine ss and government to fill a tragic gap in our
resource economy created by centuries of appalling land-use practice. At the same time it is
obstructing the creation of woodlands by local communities to meet their own economic and
wider needs.

1.14 The interactions between alien conifer forest 1.16 Important wildlife commurunes have been
and other land-uses as well as potential resources has adversely affected. The case of the Flowlands in Caith-
begun to be unravelled. Many of them are detrimen tal ness and Sut herland has been extensively covered in
and include effects on hill-farming, freshwater fisher - the media in this context. That particular 'planning'
ies, wild game , wild life communities of special import- fiasco represents an inexcusable failure to meet our
ance , tourism and human water sources. very few internation al obligations? but very wide
responsibilities to ra re wildlife resources that 'belong'
in a very important sense to the people of the earth as a
whole.

1.17 Intensive monocultures of all kinds court dis-

ease and, as in agriculture, foresters have found them-
selves increasingly dependent on pesticides to reduce
the economic impact of diseases and pest attack on their
crops. Aerial spraying of organophosphate inse cticide
has become a regular feature of pest control program-
-e
. ~
INSECTI CID E S PRA YING
~
.c::
ec I n 1978 thefirst areas of lodgepolepine monoculture
.5
§ were sprayed from the air in Sutherland with the
u organophosphate insecticide, F enitrothion. This
~
e group of chemicalsareamong themosttoxicknown to
:::l
c Man. The Forestry Commission has sprayed several
Clearfelling the conifer monoculture: a travesty of the word thousand acres since 1978 in the north of S cotland:
'forestry' .
4875 acres in years 1987 to 1988. Because of a
suspected link between F enitrothion spraying a~d the
frequently lethal children's disease known as Reye's
1.15 Alien conifers produce an acidic humus and Syndrome, the chemical has been banned by five
therefore tend to increase the acidity of freshwater Canadian States. Despite claims that the problem
ecosystems in their catchments. This adversely affects has been avoidedin S cotland by the useofa different
the invertebrate life and, therefor e, the fish and other diluent, research continues to shou: that F enitrothion
animals that feed off th em . At times of ploughing and itselfcancause permanent nerve damage whenadmi-
felling, large quantities of mud and silt enter burns and nistered in low doses over a period of time and has
rivers with direct effects on fish and wildlife and more been linked in Canada to birthdefects and eyesight
insidious effects such as the silting up of spawning problems.
grounds for salmon and trout.

9
- MYTH & REALITY
mes in the Highlands. T he introduction of such been made by forestry businesses and individuals
dangerous chemicals into our environment seems to exploiting these financial arrangements treating fore-
be a necessary corrollary of the forest monoculture stry as if it were just another form of property spe-
and represe nts a serious failure of the industry to adapt culation. To say that this 'business' puts any signifi-
its practice to the requirements of other land users and cant amount of money back into local economies is a
human health . gross and distorting pretence.
1.19 Despite the cunning presentation of figures by
forestry interests, it is apparent that few lasting jobs are
created by their operations in relation to the amounts of
land consumed.

IND USTRIAL FORESTRY -

EMPLOYMENT
", . . rural communities also derive littleemployment
or other local economic benef it from the present
forestry regime. The centralization, mechanization
and other labour saving strategies developed by this
single purpose system, mean that employment in
forestry has beenf alling despite the major expansion
Deep ploughing: the ugly scars of 'industrial forestry'. ofplantations and harvesting volumes. The increases
in production have maintained employment levels in
1.18 The extent of public subsidy for industrial fore- wood processing industries but these have moved to
stry in the form of planting grants and tax relief has also large-scale factories away from rural areas. ,,8
been recently highlighted in the press. Big profits have

THE REALITY OF WILD GAME MANAGEMENT

1.20 The management of red deer in the Highlands for trophies, leaving estate employees to effect a ba-
has always been a predominantly haphazard affair re- lanced cull. This trade has ensured that the wider local
sponding more to the fashions and whims of estates community has not greatly benefitted from the re-
than to those scientifically based population estimates source as either food or revenue, that no overall
and judgements that have gradually become available.
The unchallenged right of privately owned estates to
manage this wild resour ce entirely for its own benefit RED DEER DAMAGE
has allowed the survival of a bizarre trade where tour- With the clearance of theforest, the red deer lostits
ists pay to shoot one particular age class and sex of beast natural habitat but managed to adapt to the new
environment of inhospitableopen hillside byreducing
its body size and antlergrowth. That same denuda-
tionof thehillsidethatturned it intosuch a poor beast
by European standards, paradoxically also madeof
it an eminently shootable target.
B ut the annualshootof about40,000 deer has been
insufficient toprevent the Highland reddeer popula-
tionfrom increasing to about 250,000 beasts. Whilst
!Xl
l:l.
the damage they cause to crops and plantations is
CIl
~ oftendiscussedtheir less obvious butnoless important
Thered deer: a woodland beast deprived of its natural habitatyet competition with sheep on good pasture and their
preventing the forest from returning by virtue of its excessive grazing of regenerating trees is not.
numbers.

10

iosu inu:« LJfiMfHjJj

_ MYTH & REALITY
ecological management strategy has evolved and fairer means. The latest threats to wild salmon are
that, overall, the animal is manifestly undershot. posed by salmon farm ing and include transmission of
disease, interference with homing patterns, pollution
1.21 Management of red grouse involves exploitation of rivers and the far reaching implications of gene tic
of the artificial heather dominated hillside that formed drift. 9/10
after forest clearance. Its principle tool is fire which
ensures that tree regeneration cannot take place and
that a continuous supply of a palatable heather crop is
available to the birds. But steep declines in grouse bags
have been experienced in many areas of the Highlands
in the last 50 years and , though the reasons are various,
declining fertility levels of the soil-vegetation complex
(exacerbated by burning) have no doubt played their
part. Whatever the reasons, it seems unlikely that
estates will ever see again the big bags that were once
taken off the hill each autumn.

1.22 The Atlantic salmon is rapidly becoming an

endangered species and the causes are so various that
there is deep concern as to what the future holds for it.
As with the other wild animals, it is the prerogative of
landowners to manage and reap the financial rewards
from salmon passing through their lands. It is frequent-
ly argued that this system has contributed to the con- Salman farm ing poses many threats to wi ld salmon stocks by
servation of the species but this is not to say that it transmission of disease, pollution of rivers and the far -reaching
couldn't have been achieved at least as well by other implications of genetic drift .

Red grouse, red deer and Atlantic salmon have in common that they are native , wild animals and thus cannot be
said to 'belong' to anyone. They are , however, exploited by individual landowners on whose land they happen to
be residing, the benefits of both meat and sporting revenue accruing to them only. Other people ar e expressly
excluded from participation. This present form of management represents the unrightful exclusive exploitation
of a common resource by a few people.

hand-in-hand with the loss of need to produce any of

THE REALITY OF one's own food or other consumerables and with the
more generalized loss of contact with the productive
CROFTING capabilities of the land - the depopularization of
agriculture. This Manifesto engages the possibility of
its repopulariza tion.
1.23 Crofting as a type of mixed husbandry involving
a high degree of self-reliance has, at least on the High-
land mainland, become almost extinct in the last 50
years. Nonetheless the word still denotes a particular THE REALITY OF
type of tenanc y and, more importantly, a lifestyle. The
typical croft today has an income derived from at least FISHERIES //
one job off the croft, and from the provision of tourist
accommodation. Agricultural activity is mostly part-
time (80% of crofts provide less than 2 days' work per 1.24 At sea as on land, the story has been one of
week) and comprises the running of sheep alone. Even resource mismanagement, the squandering of a rich
the provision of seasonal vegetables and fruit for the potential for immediate gain leading to disruptive
kitchen is now an uncommon part of the croft eco- changes in the resource base and crippling uncertain-
nomy. The decline of crofting husbandry has gone ties regarding the future. The collapse of the west coast

11

... ... ....&J "".&Joi ... &.J ... .&.& "'.&

 _ MYTH &REALITY
herring fishery at the beginning of the 19th century and fishery for a resource guzzling, economically unst-
its effect on small coastal communities is well able and polluting one controlled largely by multi-
documented. Overfishing of the same species two hun- national companies.
dred years later led to the enforced closure of the
herring fishery in the late '70s. The current intense
catching effort for mackerel based on the foreign klon-
THE REALITY OF
NATURE
CONSERVATION

1.25 Conservation of wildlife in the Highlands

amoun ts to little more than a rearguard action to
protect a small handful of the outstandingly important
wildlife communities that are left. Yet the degree of
antipathy towards the conservation organizations and
their work in the region must be second to nowhere in
Britain . Media distort ion of the conflicts of inte rest in
. "Tht'1 ~..d.. ~ ;11\.1 "'ki ME ff t d. t-. tW£ f-i~H . i ~ ~i~ pflA w\l\i ~ WE:" . the Flowlands , for instance, as well as the Nature
f~td ~ H-1~ Fi.,\.t i., ~ a.t pb-( w~l44 WE; ~~ to Ht~fi$t.t o\lEy ~6ft •• •
Conservancy's total preoccupation with SSSI notifica-
dyker market now threatens this species too. The tion have played their part in this poor image. The
dramatic increase in prawn trawling poses a thre at to limited resources of conservation organizations and the
this traditionally small scale fishery both by its scale of lack of a conservation ethos in Local and Regional
activity and its physical threat to static gear. Over and Government, Highland Board and other Statutory
over again the interests of the local and the small-scale Bodies, have not allowed for the kind of more posi-
fishermen have been overridden by the large-scale and tive forward-looking partnership of conservation and
the greed of the few. The latest threat to inshore development that is badly needed. Until wildlife con-
fisheries , particularly of shellfish, comes in the form of servation is recognized by planners as an essential
the salmon pen. There may be some degree of short- element of resource management as a whole, its aims
term prosperity in salmon farming but at the same time and practice will remain to be seen as nothing more
there is a sad irony in the exchange of a potentially than an annoying intrusion into the affairs of those
sustainable, undamaging and locally controlled exploiting natural resour ces commercially.

THE REALITY OF LAND OWNERSHIP

Arguably the three most disastrous land-use policies perpetrated by mankind in the High-
lands have come about by estate owners selling out to highly exploitative outside interests for
personal financial gain. In the 17th and 18th centuries landowners sold out to the iron
smelters. In the 18th and 19th it was to the sheep graziers and now, in the 20th, they're selling
out to industrial foresters . These unrightful transactions are 'only possible under a system
that allows individual ownership of huge estates. '

1.26 The nature of land ownership in the Highlands, 100years in the extent ofland held by large estates, half
as over the rest of Scotland, is legally termed Feudal. of the land mass of Scotland is still in the hands of
This form of ownership came into existence in the 11th just 579 landowners.
century and , largely unaltered since then , has lent to
the country " the most concentrated pattern of private 1.27 It has been said that in no country in Europe are
ownership in Europe.,,11 Despite a decline in the last the rights of owners so carefully protected as in our

12
 MYTH & REALITY
country and these rights extend to the exploitation of
most of the natural resources, animal, vegetable and
mineral, which are more properly considered as com-
mon to local communities.
1.28 As the majority of people who work directly on
the land or in the rural environment are tenants of :9
lairds, it can be said that land-use practice, the pattern ~
of settlement, indeed much of the rural economy as a ~
~
c:
whole is in the control of this small group of landown- .~

ers, half of whom can be classified as absentee. Land- ::l

U

owners have inevitably tended to support the status ~

::l
quo that so favours them and must therefore carry, Cl
down the ages, a great part of the responsibility for the For estates in thewestand centralHighlands, almosttwo owners
declines that have taken place in human populations, in in every three are absentees.
agricultural productivity and in ecological balance.
ABSENTEEISM
1.29 The privilege of land ownership translates into
"... almost exactly half ofHighland estate owners
political power that is detrimental to' the wider com-
live on their properties for less than four months in
munity's potentials of creativity, productivity and self-
any year. For estates in the west and central High-
respect. It is also part of a class system that is divisive
lands, almost two owners in every three are
and breeds unhealthy relationships between people and absentees." 12
between people and the land on which they live.

THE 'HIGHLANDPROBLEM' REDEFINED

T he Green Perspective that the Manifesto has presented is of a barren environment degraded
by mankind himself (principally mankind from outwith the region ) over a period of about
three and a half thousand years. The state to which he has brought the land by his activities
has been described as a wet desert. We have become conditioned by its austerity to what we
can farm on this desert, to what we can grow in it. But a fuller knowledge of the land-use and
vegetational history of the region leads to a more optimistic view of its potential. If we could
repair the damage to our ecosystem, we could yet embark on a new era of ecologically and
therefore economically sustainable land use.

1.30 The conventional view of the state of the High- history of forest destruction, its long-term trend of
lands, reinforced by existing governmental initiatives is ecological decline, the part private landownership has
a sadly ill-informed one which is taking us down an played in these and the present conditioned view of the
unhappy path of missed opportunities and worse - a Highland landscape is almost worthless. It certainly
long-term downward spiral of ecological and social cannot result in useful prescriptions for improvement.
decline. This traditional view may deal with rural A critical part of the problem is thus to be found in
depopulation, decline in rural services and facilities those authorities and agencies responsible-for shaping
and decreasing standards of living relative to other rural Highland policy. They give .little' indication of
regions. It may even relate these to the loss of economic having assimilated enough land-use history and ecolo-
viability of agriculture and other primary industries. gical science to plan for a stabilization of the present
But this is not the entire picture and deals prin cipally decline , let alone of being able to add to that sufficient
with EFFECTS not CAUSES. imagination to plan for a long term and creative future.
1.31 Analysis of what has come to be known as the 1.32 In taking into account these sometimes uncom-
'Highland Problem' without an apprec iation of its long fortable truths this Manifesto arrives at a definition of

13

.1 r ! __ 11 .L _ ! _ _ L1 _ 1 __ ~ _
- MYTH &REALITY
the 'H ighland Problem' which was first elucidated by
Sir Fraser Darling in his various writings on the High-
lands earlier this century. The summary of this is that a
regrettable history of land mis-use and ownership have
led us to today 's rural pr actices which are characterized
by: (1) de trimental long-term effects on soil, vegeta-
tion and freshwater systems and therefore to ecologic-
al unsustai ability, (2) exceedingly low employment
levels and therefore to conditions of social and econo-
mic un esirability, (3) exclusive single usage of large
tracts of land use and therefore to demographic imba-
lance, (4) reliance on he avy subsidy and therefore
economic fragility and social instability.

SIR FRASER DARLING

The work ofFraserDarling hasa renewedrelevance
for theH ighlands today with his belief in small scale
crof ting husbandry and what we now term organic
practices. H is major opus is the 'West Highland
Survey' of 1955 but his diagnosis of ' The Highland
Problem' permeatesmuch ofhis writingfrom'Island ~o
Farm' (1944) to ' The Highlands and Islands' .a
f-o
(1964). "- - ' "_ _ J ]
~

14
12 The Forest Economy
THE SECOND GREAT WOOD
OF CALEDON

"The needfor developing holistic approaches that integrate the protective, productive and socialroles offorestry has
been recognized. The concept offorestry for development is now widely accepted.,,13

Having diagnosed the ills of the Highland land-use economy from an ecological standpoint, the Manifesto now
presents an alternative vision of a Highland future - a "Greenprint" - the principle proposition of which is the
planting of the greater part of the region with a mixed multi-use forest. In short, nothing less than the creation of
A Second Great Wood of Caledon.
In keeping with all Green initiatives, the principle economic and ecological thrust is towards a SUSTAIN-
ABLE rural land-use economy: that is one living within its resource means. The principle political thrust is
towards community responsibility and STEWARDSHIP rather than ownership of the land.
The overall aim is for local communities managing the total natural res ource for their own benefit, providing
maximum employment and maximum potential for diversification an d development of new areas of economic
and social activitiy.

REFORESTATION - RECREATING AN ECONOMY

2.1 The Second Great Wood ofCaledon would be no
wild and unpopulated place like the first of 1000 years
and more ago. Whilst sharing several important biolo-
gical characteristics of the original it would display
many fundamental dissimilarities. The main one being
its intensive management by Man - nurtured , not
destroyed: lived in and by, not on. It would be so well
managed in fact as to appear in places almost unman-
aged.
2.2 It would yield up to its human population a great
wealth and diversity of products as well as providing an
incomparably more hospitable micro-climate and en-
vironment than presently afforded hy the bleak and
windswept moor. Left: a typical Highland hillside bereft of trees, of human
population and eroding rapidly. Right: a typical Norwegian
2.3 It would provide a massive new potential of spir- mountainside with treesprotecting both the soil and a fertile farm
itual and aesthetic rewards. below.

WUU i:1UU UUpUpU.li:1lC;U P.li:1\..C; U.l'.C; lU~ .lU"l V.l .lVVV y ~ a .l "

and more ago. Whilst sharing several important biolo-

gical characteristics of the original it would display
m-:lnv flln {hmpnt-:ll fli~~imihlritip~ The' main one' h eine
- FORESTECONOMY
2.4 It would fulfill our global responsibilities towards type has been artificially replaced by Man with heath or
climate stabilisation and the regeneration of a healthy moor. Ecologists tell us that the present-day na tural
balance of atmospheric gases. climax vegetat ion of the H ighlands would be mixed
forest ove r by far the bulk of the land mass.
2.5 A recreated forest in the Highlands of Scotland
would also take its place alongside other current initia- 2.8 Direct experience shows us that where open moor
tives in the world to reinhabit man-made deserts and and denuded peat can only support a few animals , a few
would be an ,?pression of solidarity with developing plants and therefore little agriculture, population and
countries of the Third World. employment, a forest can support an abundance of
economic activity in proportion to the relative abund-
2.6 In total it would provide a rich and sustainable ance of its biomass and biological diversity .
resource for more people than ever before living in a
new harmony with each other and the land , under new 2.9 The Second Great Wood ofCaledon would com-
forms of land stewardship which allow for the growth prise an enormous range of tree and shrub species,
of more uncompetitive, stable and unexploitative rela- providing a correspondingly great range of food
tionships. (animal and vegetable), fodder, fuel, timber, indust-
rial, craft and even medicinal products. The Wood
2.7 The history of Highland ecology shows us that might be recreated to comprise the best aspects of
the region has been naturally dominated by a mixed forest resource usage current in countries such as Nor-
forest since the last Ice-age (see Prologue): that it is only way, Sweden and Switzerland and from the historical
in the last 400 years or so that this dominant vegetation past of the first Great Wood of Caledon itself.

AWEALTH OF PRODUCE - AN ABUNDANCE

OF EMPLOYMENT
2.10 Animal produce would divide into domestic and
wild with a far greater relative dependence on the latter
than at present. In contrast to the extreme paucity of
wild game taken from the land toda y, the Great Wood
would yield up a much increased range , quantity and
wudgame taken rrom tne lana wall y, [he \.heal WUUU
would yield up a much increased range , quantity and
quality of animal products managed by local communi-
ties to supply food , in the first place , to themselves.

2.11 Domestic stock might include cattle, both High-

land and other breeds able to thrive by virtue of the
better micro-climate and pasture. Cattle in the forest
economy would provide local sources of dairy produce
I
as well as useful organic fertilizer for many horticultu-
ral, agricultural and arboricultural practices. There
would be sheep , confined along with the cattle, to
improved pasture with breeds producing good wools
for local spinning and clothes manufacture. It would Left: upside-down Highland land-use in practice - conifer
include free-range pigs, pens, ducks, geese and other monoculture in theglen, sheep on the bleak hill, people nowhere"
fowl suitably combined on some small forest-farm Right: Norwegian glen, busy with farms and small industry
units. flanked by forested hills"

16
_ FOREST ECONOMY

It is clear that the forest economy would be a diverse and vigorous one bringing with it high
standards of living and all the proper facilities and services that rural economies require. It
would employ the most modern technologies available which would be, by definition,
small-scale, non-polluting, and non-wasteful.

A forest-croft township in the Se~ond G~eat Wood of Caledon.

17
_ FOREST ECONOMY
2.12 Instead of estates employing only a few people
WILDLIFE POSSIBILITIES
and taking money from tourists to kill game as sport
. On the borders of Poland and Russia lies the 480
the wild animal resources would be managed effi-
square miles of the Bialowieza Forest. It still has
ciently, responsibly and fairly for the benefit of the
populations of elk, beaver, otter, red and roe deer,
communities in whose forest the wild beasts would
wild boar, pine marten, and polecat. 228 species of
live. The proper management of this major new re-
birds have been recorded, 162 breeding. In addition
source would employ many people and earn revenue
there are introduced populations of muskrat, racoon
for local townships.
dog and American mink. The bison is Poland's
symbol of successful conservation; having been res-
2.13 Our red deer would return to their former native cuedfromthebrinkofextinction, there arenow about
forest habitat and grow fat on the good rich grazing 200 animals roaming theforest alongwith about30
amongst the shelter of the trees. Instead of the little lynxes and two packs of wolves. The wolf is, of
200lb beasts we think of as large today, the Great Wood course, very scarce in Europe but, nonetheless, still
of Caledon would boast the 420lb beasts that other occurs in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Yugos-
European countries crop from their best forests. lavia, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and
Greece. What exciting wildlifepossibilities a Second
2.14 With red deer installed in the habitat to which Great Wood of Caledon could offerl'"
they are naturally adapted, introduced reindeer might
make a living from the really high altitude moors and
hillsides living off the scrubby willow and birch that
even these support once sheep and fire are eliminated. 2.16 Presently lifeless lochs and burns could once
The carefully managed (not farmed) reindeer would again abound with fish when the forest is re-established
contribute another useful source of protein and other on their borders. Deciduous leaf litter will feed the
products to the local economy as well as a revenue invertebrates that feed the fish and we might expect to
earning export. harvest a variety and quantity of fish from this resource
which will contribute directly to local food economies.
This would be in marked contrast.to the present situa-
DEER FARMING tion where a few tourists fish a couple of species treated
Deer farming seems to epitomize the upside-down as a luxury and pay the "owner" for the right. Once the
state of resource management in the Highlands. lochs are living again and fertilized by the forest, some
There is unbelievable irony in farming an animal might be artificially stocked and managed primarily for
that has reached almost plague proportions in the their fish protein resource. In complete contrast to
wild yet it has been hailed as an exciting develop- today's salmon farmer the priority would be to develop
ment. If the wild resource was simply managed u~polluting, sustainable, drug free forms of husbandry
properly there would be abundant supplies of meat, WIth low resource input and skilled multi-species cul-
reduced competition ongrazings and ontree regenera- ture systems.
tionas well as the sparing ofpain and distress to the
unfortunate deer penned up in open fields against
.L o ':- +11, _ _ t :4At"''';1(J~'t T"""/UL"°C" Ztnrrrand £''''' '; ... fl'IIJI\I _t7"l.O"t'J

their naturalinstinct. Irony is heaped on irony when

thedeer farmer starts to receive LivestockCompensa-
tory Allowances to sustain an uneconomic activity!

2.15 Other large herbivores might be introduced and

managed as wild resources too. The once native elk eo
.5
would seem to be a good candidate. The Scandinavians ~
~
harvest it within their forest economy, the Germans -e
I:
too. The Highland Forest Economy would not be ~
complete without it. In the fully developed Great .5
c::
Wood there would be a place too for some of the .~
other animals that have only disappeared from the c.
E
o
Highlands within the last 1000 years (see Prologue) u
and which survive to this day in a few rem aining deep The unbelieva ble irony offarming deer in a country plagued by
forests of Europe. wild deer of the same species.

18
 - FOREST ECONOMY
2.17 The forest-croft would look a little different would be the understorey and fruit trees interplanted
from the typical croft we see on the Highland mainland amongst suitable 'wild' trees. All would benefit natur-
at present but would exhibit many qualities that are ally from the protection and fertilization of the forest
enshrined in the original crofting practice. It would trees.
have diverse interests, operate at quite a small scale and
give to its inhabitants a healthy and fulfilling liveli- 2.22 The intensive management of the forest for a
hood. In contrast to most of today's crofts, it would be multitude of purposes would yield .up an adequate
intensively managed, serviced by modern appropri- harvest of firewood as general domestic fuel for every-
ate machinery and exude a high degree of prosperity body and nobody would have to go far to get it. Most
and dynamism. houses would have efficient, modern solid-fuel stoves
giving space and water heating as well as cooking
2.18 Crofts and small farms would be scattered facilities. Heating requirements would already be
throughout the forest, naturally clustered on the richer somewhat reduced due to the favourable micro-
soils, often in the bottoms of glens and much resemb- climatic effects of the surrounding forest and improved
ling their pre-Clearance distributions. There would be insulation and building design.
small, well-fenced or dyked fields with a great deal of
improved pasture. Trees around all the fields would 2.23 Frequently, the firewood resource would be
constantly fertilize the pasture with leaf litter. Some cooperatively managed, the community employing
I· mature areas of forest would be opened out to form
rides and glades where some herbivores would graze
some members to carry out this function for all. It is
certain that in a forest economy, domestic heating
freely, being able to move in and out of the shelter of bills would be a fraction of what they are today.
the trees.
2.24 To ensure that local resource depletions do not
occur, some forest townships and industries might
need to grow a special biomass fuel crop, e.g. osier or
willow plantation to help run a local combined heat and
power scheme.

BIOMASS PLANTATIONS
Plantingsofwillowsandpoplars for energy use have
been undertaken in many countries: Sweden, USA,
West Germany, France, Korea, Argentine, Greece,
Pakistan, Turkey. In Eire there is a 200 hectare trial
plot on cut-over peat being croPfed on a five year
rotation for electricity generation. 5 TheSwedesesti-
Windbreak Lodge. mate that their country could be self-sufficient in
energy if 7% of the land area was covered with
2.19 Some arable farming would take place and suffi- 'energy farms' containing the 'superwillows' they
cient roots, hay, silage and other fodder crops grown to have bred in their selection programme based in the
feed the domestic animals the whole winter through. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences at
Good accommodation (perhaps communally man- Uppsala. 1
aged) on site in the forest for the domestic animals
would eliminate the need for any to be taken elsewhere
- a wasteful and expensive current practice in some 2.25 The overall business of power generation would
areas. There would be an abundance of vegetable crops be run more efficiently and rationally than at present by
suitable for immediate local human consumption. Local Energy Authorities as part of local government.
These would be empowered to develop whatever ener-
2.20 Some specialist vegetable and fruit growers gy sources they might find appropriate. to their needs
might employ polythene tunnels in clearings in the and environment. By the time the'forest economy is in
forest benefitting from the tree shelter in high winds full swing, electricity generation is likely to come
but most vegetables would grow well in the open in the from about six, and domestic heat from about twelve,
litter fertilized soils, protected by the trees. different sources. These would represent industries
employing more people than are presently employed in
2.21 A great deal of fruit growing would be integrated the energy industry and in a thoroughly dispersed
into the forest itself. In thinned forest, fruit bushes employment pattern. The power supplied would be

19

2.19 Some arable farming would take place and suffi- ',me;vv -farms' -containinl! the 'suoerunllous' thev
_ FOREST ECONOMY

WILLOW TRIALS IN THE HIGHLANDS

The University ofAberdeen, acting as contractorfor
the DepartmentofEnergy, has been investigating the
growth potential of willow hybrids since 1979 and
now has several trial plantations in the Highlands.
The H.lDB has become involved in the work and is
responsible for the setting up of three new trials.
M any hybrids are being tested for their potential
wood yield and resistance to disease. I n Northern
I reland a tractor-mounted machine for harvesting
and bundling coppiced stems is being developed for
the time when the f irst energy forests are ready for
cropping.

considerably cheaper and safer due to the Green tech- By the time the foresteconomy is in full swing, electricitygenera-
nologies involved. Nuclear power generation would tion is likely to comefrom aboutsix, and domestic heatf romabout
become even more of an unnecessary encumbrance of twelve, diff erent sour es,
the past than it already is.
pattern of locally appropriate and diverse energy
programmes.
SWEDEN - A LTERNA TIVE ENERGY
"S weden already obtains 7% of its total energy 2.27 Within the forest some areas would be desig-
budget by exploiting the wastes of its huge forest- nated primarily structural and/or pulp growing areas
products industry." 16 and the community would manage these by careful
selective thinning and felling for its building and paper
manufacturing industries. Unlike the monocultures of
2.26 The use of wave energy to generate electricity today, these would be of truly mixed species tending to
would play an important part in the economy of coastal rely on Native Scots pine as a softwood rather than
townships and, increasingly, power would be gener- exotic species. But there would be a place for exotics in
ated by local wind and hydro schemes, frequently on an proportions and mixes that do not damage the soil or
individually very small scale. Biogas digesters on many water systems or require the application of pesticides.
farm units would generate both heat and electricity in Clear felling would become a thing of the past, a
small schemes . The twelve different sources of heat primitive and unnecessary practice belonging to a time
already tapped by at least one advanced Western when forests were of an even-aged structure and com-
country' ? would become assimilated into the Highland mercial interests were allowed to exploit the land for
what they could get with no concern for other land
uses, present or future.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
" The U.S.A. (like Japan ) already gets more than 2.28 A wealth of small manufacturing and craft in-
7% ofall its primary energy from renewable sources. dustries would feed off the forest woods. Kitchen
It has about 112 million solar buildings and the utensils, bowls, plates and other household imple-
number is doubling annually. ments would be made from locally cropped woods.
Private woodburning increased more than sixfold in Furniture and cabinet-makers would exploit the par-
thelastyear. Most states have biomass fuel program- ticular qualities of the woods available in their areas. In
mes. Several geothermal parks are under considera- the place of today's laminated chipboard and plaster-
tion. board there would be good solid Scots pine surfaces and
In short, diverse, localized initiatives in thousands of lined walls; warm, insulating and beautiful; products
communities and millions of factories, offices and grown and crafted locally within the community. Not
homes - actions takenfrom the bottom up, notfrom just a luxury for the wealthy but as the Scandinavians
the top down - are adding up to a quiet energy take for granted as part of their forest economy. Other .
revolution that is reshaping the American energy specialist craftsmen would occupy still further econo-
system with unprecedented speed."18 mic niches, making musical instruments, boats , toys,
tools, charcoal and artworks.

20
- FOREST ECONOMY
FARM-FORESTRY IN BULGARIA
700forest nurseries produce 700 million seedlings per
year. S helterbelts on farms have increased yields of
farm crops by about30% on average, those ofmaize
by up to 60%.
Specializedgame andfish breeding farms have been
created within the forest .Mor than 200 species of
forest fruit trees and shrubs are utilized and produce
c.250,000 tonnes/year asfood and raw material for
industry.
"By-activities" include growing of potatoes, tobacco
and other farm produce, also caule breeding. Wood
residues are used as raw materials in manufacture of
small wooden articles for everyday needs as souve-
nirs. Fodder substance and pine oil are extracted
from pine needles. Complete utilization of all forest
resources is a major task of a special programme.
The woodworking industry plays a most important
role in the economy with 80% of domestic wood
consumption being covered by local resources.
The woodprocessing industry is based on theprinci-
pleofcomplete utilizationof raw materials. I n 1982,
utilization of the output of coniferous wood reached e
1=
85.4%, that of non-coniferous wood 71.2%.19 Specialist craftsmen would exploit the particular qualities of the
woods available in their areas.

Reforestation, the recreation of the Great Wood of Caledon, implies the re-learning of old
skills of mixed forest management and the acquiring of new ones too. It means massive
employment potential in a whole new and vigorous economy. It means an expanded and fully
employed population at work in enviable healthy and meaningful occupations.

2.29 The present small rural indu stries, e.g. fencing

and dyking, would flourish and whole new ones would BIR CH IMPROVEMENT
spring up. For instance nurseries would grow and The potential of birch has been greatly underesti-
develop trees, bushes and plants of all types for the matedbecause mostof thegood trees were cleared for
ever-expanding range of forest industries and arbori- agriculture, charcoal and bobbin wooda few centur-
cultures. iesagoso that only an impoverished genetic resource
remains. Finland hasbeen breedingfast growing and
good quality birch for over 10 years which can be
made into plywood. 1
Work started at A berdeen University in 198) into'
improving silver birch with the aim to produce ply-
wood timberon 30 year rotation but this project has
been recently abandoned due to lack of available
funding.

21
 FOREST ECONOMY

COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP - COOPERATIVE

ENTERPRISE

The forest economy would not only differ in many biological and physical aspects from the
present rural land-use economy but would also differ in its social and political structure. The
second corner-stone of the Greenprint for the future - no less important than the establish-
ment of ecologically sustainable productivity bases - is the establishment of more fully
participatory local government , local taxation and community stewardship of land.

2.30 Eventually, the Great Wood of Caledon would

'belong to' (in as mu ch as land can ever be the property
of people) all who dwell in it. The people who work the
land would be the tenants of the community. Rath er as
in existing crofting situations in the Highlands, tenants
would retain control over their businesses on the forest-
croft or farm - a limite d area of land near the home-
stead.
2.31 Other activiti es requiring or benefitting from
communal organization would take place off the croft
or farm on the rest of the land stewarded and gov-
erned by the local community - the equivalent of
present-day common grazings but indefinitely ex-
tended and again , instead of belonging to an estate ,
belonging to the community itself.

2.32 The bulk of enterprise on this common land SOCIAL FORESTR Y IN INDIA
would be communally managed, some by the commun-
" . . . theForest Department therefore planned a tree
plantingprogramme on all types of lands available
ity as a whole , e.g. firewood and wild game, others by
for the purpose. A startwas madein 1969 by making
cooperati ve businesses. Such types of financial
road-side plantations alongside state-owned roads
arrangement would become the norm -rather than the
exception tending to naturally evolve in direct response
and thisreceived unexpectedcooperation and support
to the civilized and equ itable progress of land reform.
from the public at large. The successful road-side
plantations by the Forest Department also brought
Communal stewardship inspires cooperative manage-
home to the people that trees would grow on waste-
ment and business arrangements.
lands at a reasonable cost.
Encouraged by this success, the State undertook yet
COMMUNITY FOREST another innovativesocialforestry programme in 1974
The rebuilding ofIndia's forest wealthhas, in recent which came to be popularly known as The Village
years, become one of the major issues in land-use Forests Programme. This was a very simple work-
policyand hasprovided a paradigm for development ablemodel ofraising trees on hitherto unutilizedand
in social forestry; the strategy being to regenerate barren community ownedgrazing landsforproviding
forest resources through the participation of the com- society with fuel-wood along with fodder, small
munity in the protection and management of timber and fruits.21
forests. 20

22

\.,.UVP\...1Ql..1 V\",. UU~.l.l.1~ ..:} ..:}""' ..:J . u u. \",..I..l LJ p .... o V A. .l..I. ...... "'... .n ......u ...

!lrr!lnapmpnt U10111~ hp('om p thp norm -r ::lt h p r th::ln th p

road-side plantations .alongside state-owned roads
_ FOREST ECONOMY

And so the forest economy could be created, transforming one of Europe's most severely
ecologically and economically disadvantaged regions into one ofgreat prosperity and beauty;
one of lasting ecological and social stability. Transforming a distantly-governed and grant-
manipulated society into an economically viable, self-determined and just one.

23
 e First Steps
The Second Great Wood of Caledon and its economy could clearly not be created overnight!
A principle argument for The Second Great Wood of Caledon however is its long-term
nature; its stabilizing and socially cohesive context. Rapid change is not in the true nature of
either the forest or human society. And so it would be that the forest economy would only
develop gradually, the scope of man's possible activity slowly wideni ng within the growing
natural generosity of th e regenerating forest.

The existence of a 'Highla nd Problem' has been long enough lamented. There is a gathering sense of frustration
and urgency. It is time to begin now on a long-sighted regeneration of the Highlands.
To redevelop , to repopulate, to recreate. BUT WITH IM AGINAT ION !
In marked contrast to the present lack of vision of development programmes and ongoing grant aid, the creation
of a Second Great Wood of Caledon could ach ieve just that.

This section of the M ANIFEST O looks at some immedi ate steps we might take towards that vision - the
FIRST STEPS we could choose to take towards a FO REST ECONOM Y.

HILL-FARMINGREFORM
Aspects of hill-farming are in urgent need of change. The overall aim in the uplands should be
for higher quality livestock management to produce a higher quality product than at present
using vastly less land. Such a reform alone could yield up large areas for the beginnings of the
new forest and its economy at the same time as increasing the viability of hill-farming. Change
would also involve what is already known in other parts of the world as agroforestry: that
close integration of farming and woodland management that the Second Great Wood of
Caledon envisions.

restriction of their movement and the immediate start

FIRST STEPS to forest regeneration. It is ecologically disastrous and
grossly wasteful that sheep should have free access to
such massive proportions of land .
3.1 As in other mountainous regions of Europe sheep
would be better grazed largely in fenced enclosures 3.2 These changes would involve an ambitious prog-
of improved pasture bounded by the shelter and soil ram me of intensification of hill-shee p management
nourishment given by trees. This would allow for the as a priority, improving existing in-bye land and mak-

24
- FIRST STEPS

FASSFERN ESTATE MANAGEMENT

On thisHighland estate lower hill land was reseeded
with grass and clover. Althoughnumbers ofewes and
cattlehave been reduced, production compared with
that before conversion has increased from 200-300
lambsand30 calves to500 lambsand 33 calves using
just one fifth of the area. Sheep are sheltered by
plantations and can be wintered amongst the trees
when theyoung plantations areold enough not to be
harmed. Sheep mortality hasbeen reduced and lamb-
ingpercentage is about 100%. Employmenthasbeen
boosted about six fold. 22

AGROFORESTRY
It is ecologically disastrous and grossly wasteful that sheep should "Agroforestry's holistic approach to solvingland use
have free access to such massiveproportions of land. problems (has had)remarkable results with regard to
increasing the human-ecological carrying capacity.
ing additions to it by ploughing, draining, reseeding,
fertilizing and shelter-belt planting. Definition: "Agroforestry is a system of land use
where woodyperennials are deliberately usedon the
3.3 Every assistance should be given to farmers and same land management unit as annual crops andlor
crofters creating woodlands and shelter-belts. All animals either sequentially orsimultaneously with the
initiatives to combine woodland and stock manage- aim of obtaining greater outputs on a sustained
ment should be encouraged and research and pilot basis." (ICRAF 1983).
schemes into agroforestry systems instigated.
"Agroforestry accelerates the general trend from
3.4 Sheep should be immediately excluded from:- monoculture tree plantations to ecologically more
existing woodlands in a state of decay due to lack of stable multi-species stands which, in turn, corres-
regeneration; steep hillsides and other areas where pondsmore closely tothedemands ofrural people. ,,23
erosion is occurring; all land above a threshold altitude.
reason why enough winter feed should not be grown for
3.5 Present muirburn codes of practice should be all animals on a holding if the land is managed carefully
enforced to prevent the excesses,of damage that poor and intensively. (Within a more fertile and sheltered
burning causes until such time aJ the practice is made forest environment there should be less need for hous-
redundant by the new forest grazing regimes of the ing).
Second Great \Vood.

3.6 We should further improve stock management by

proper winter feeding, and housing where 'necessary,
on site, obviating the need to transport animals long
distances to milder climes. There is no agricultural

HILL-FARMING IN UK
"Farmers have oftenstated thatforest-grazed anim- l
~
alsgainin fitness and subsequently havefewer lamb- ih
ing and calving problems.
The use of forestry plantations for over-wintering
j
cr
sheep and cattle could thus hase great potential in §
Cl
boosting theproductivity ofthemarginal uplands and
improving farm tnabiluy,"? Sheep shouldbeimmediately excludedfrom existingwoodlands in
a state of decay due to lack of regeneration.

25
0t:l:UllU Ult:i:tl W UUU.

3.6 We ~houl~ further improve stock man~gement by

_ FIRST STEPS
3.7 The reintroduction of a proportion of cattle
should be made once more an economically viable
and ready option for crofters and hill-farmers. The
ratio of cattle to sheep has declined drastically in the
last 30 years despite the knowledge of the detrimental
effects on the land -of a sheep-only grazing system.
i ?

3.8- Special assistance should be given to new horti-

cultural initiatives for the growing and local marketing
of fruit and vegetables especially on organic lines.

3.9 All these improvements should be brought about

by a radical new system of grants, loans and other
incentives specifically geared to encourage more sus-
tainable agricultural practices and to cater for the
co-operative action of farmers and crofters.

"0

FARM-FORESTRY IN NORWAY ~
"The typical Norwegian forestry owner is a fanner ..c:
~
0/)

who has some 20 hectares of land in agricultural use c::

'2
c::
and 40 hectares of woodland. He works thefarm in U
;:l

e
the summer and the woods in the winter.,,24 ~
c:: ;:l
" "'~. Ci
"On returning from Norway toSkye recently, I had The reintroduction of a proportion of cattle shouldbe made once
occasion to compare the view from similar 3000ft more an economically viable and ready option.
granite hillsin both countries. I n Norway, thevalley
I looked downuponcontained anautonomous village
of 20 small farms, with their own crops, power
supply, school, etc. - a prosperous and happy place
with a good trade surplus and a population with a
healthy age structure. The S kye valley had twenty
black-faceewes and twelvelambs. . . The develop-
ment potential in the Highlands and Islands is
immense. ,,25

3.10 We should encourage in every way the co-

9r.hrativ.e... a1Jn~~W&h ...wmffiu)f.911lQ. g~... ~~seJJ.li.P1 Jill" l4,e
'I"
operative approach which would be essential for the
heavy work of reclaiming and creating grazings and for
the reintroduction of cattle. A part of the reason for the
demise of hill-cattle was the labour intensity involved
which can be overcome by a combination of appropri-
ate modern technology and a community approach.

'A,.

AGROFORESTRY IN SWEDEN
In southern Sweden there are 240,000 privately
owned woodlands and fanners manage about two-
a;
thirds them in conjunction with their agricultural
units.2

26
_ FIRST STEPS
RED DEER CONTROL
An essential prerequisite for the regeneration of
the forest, even for the first steps ofhill-farming
and industrial forestry ref orm, is the control of
the red deer population. This must be drastical-
ly reduced and then maintained at a relatively
low population to allow natural regeneration of
trees and reduce the pressure on fenced planta-
tions and improved grazings. Clearly this task
cannot and should not be entrusted to private
individuals; the establishment of a new deer
management regime must be an intricate part of
ecologically informed and community based
j
wildlife management. The typicalNorwegianforest-farm with some 20 hectares of land
in agricultural use and 40 hectares of woodland.

FORESTRY REFORM
It will be apparent already that the establishment of the new forest economy - The Great
Wood of Caledon - implies the almost total abandonment of present-day industrial forestry
practices. It is also clear that it will take time to replace the antiquated and destructive
practices associated with monocultures by the modern and progressive skills of agroforestry
and permaculture.

But, as in agriculture, a start can be made now to curb the worst excesses of ecological degradation caused by
the industry at the same time as embarking on the first stages of multi-use forest regeneration.

3.13 Provisions to ensure that no furt her existing

FIRST STEPS native woodlands, however small, are sacrificed for
industrial forestry.
3.11 Th e obligatory produ ction of comprehensive
management plans at the outset of proposed forestry
schemes within the framework of regional planting
strategies which take into account all land-use in-
terests.
3.12 New requirements for sustainable, environ-
mentally sound silvicultural practices to include: (1)
ceilings on total areas plantable with exotic conifers
within a given catchment, (2) limits to the amount of
the total planned forest planted in each 5-10year period
thu s ensuring that the forest is not all even-aged and
!
]
u
therefore not all felled at once, (3) specifications as to First steps must include effective protection against industrial
the relative proportions of principle species planted to forestryforareas of scientific importance suchastheFlowlandsof
avoid monocultures . Caithness and Sutherland.

27
native woodlands, however small, are sacrificed for
_ FIRST STEPS
3. 14 Effective protection against industrial forestry
for areas of scientific importance. We must wake up NATIVE TR EES FOR THE HIGHLANDS
immediately to International Conventions and respo n- R ight from the start of refor estation the accent must
sibilitie s towar ds the wild resources that belong to the be on native H ighland trees. Th ese are genetically
planet as a who le:,' highly adap ted to the severe climate and soil and have
evolved a proper ecological equilibrium with other
3.15' More stringent control on pesticide usage organisms. Thus they provide nourishment fo r the
workingon the principle of caution when in doubt and maximum number of other creatures and are less
th aj, th e user should pay for pr oper monitoring of likely to cause ecological disruptions manif ested, f or
biological effects and damages incurred by others. example, in the severe 'pest' infe stations of exotic
conifer plantations. The woods of birch, Scots pine
3. 16 A high percentage of compensatory planting and holly are amongst the most useful and beautifu l
with deciduous trees for every unit area of conifers in temperate f orests, willow amongst thef astest grow-
planted. Present suggested levels of 5% for industrial ing. A nd THESE SPECIES A RE THE NA -
foresters should be increased substantially. TIVE TREES OF THE HIGHLA N DS .
3.17 Plant ings of wide bands of decidu ous trees
around lochs and water courses as a standard part of all
industrial softwood schemes. This would protect them
from acidification and nourish th em with the leaf litt er
that encourages th em toward s their full potential of fish MUL TI-US E FORESTRY
and other wildlife populations. " . . . breaking out of the straightjacket of indu strial
afforestation, harnessing the multitude of benefits, in
3.18 Assist development of community based tree addition to growing wood itself, cannot but benefit
planting schemes of all sorts but particularly of nat ive inhabitants of both developing and developed
tr ees for multiple purposes. Enco urag e the design of countries. ,,27
am bitious and imaginat ive scheme s incorporating
energy efficient buildings and other productive ente r-
prises interdepend ent with trees, i.e . give support to
permacul ture design.
SOCIAL F ORE S TRY
3.19 Give every assistance to conventional forestry
" T he purpose ofsocial f orestry is the creation offorest
interests to broaden their approach into multi-use and
for the benefit of the community through active in-
agroforestry systems.
volvement and the participation ofthe community . In
3.20 Initiate research into alternative forestry the process, rural migration will reduce and rural
crops and produce with emphasis on th e possible uses unemployment end. Th e overall concept of social
of native trees and the ir genetic improvement for par- f orestry aims at mak ing villages self- reliant in regard
ticular purposes such as energy biomass or quality to their forest material needs. ,,20
plywood produ ction .

PERMACULTURE - DEFINITION CENTRAL SCOTLAND FOREST

P ermaculture is the conscious design of self - A new company backed by the Scottish Offi ce is
sustaining, bountifu l landscapes. Plants, animals, presently being set up with the aim ofcreating a large
buildings and w ater reserves are co-ordinated to scale forest farm ing landscape in the Central Low-
make the best use of a site's terrain, to establish land Belt between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is an
beneficial interactions, and to make the most efficient ambitious project involving the close integration of
use of time. and resources in an environmentally community , amenity and productive woodlands with
benign w ay. Elements are placed in the design to existing and new farming enterprise. It is considered
serve many f unctions, and each function is attained that improving the environment through " sensitive
in a numbr of ways. (P E R M A C UL T UR E IN- woodland planting" will be the "key ingredient of
STITUTE OF NORTH AMERICA ). economic regeneration" for the area. 28

28
- FIRST STEPS

LAND REFORM

The rural resources of the Highlands will never be managed along ecologically sustainable
lines for the full benefit ofthe population until the existing outmoded and iniquitous pattern of
land ownership is dismantled. We can make a start to land reform right away . Working
towards the community stewardship and cooperative enterprise envisioned in The Second
Great Wood of Caledon.

3.24 T he existence of Common Grazings in th e Croft-

FIRST STEPS ing Counties could act as the first simple instrument
through which a relatively painless reallocation of land
3.21 The general aim is the progressive reallocation to the community might be effected. Land designated
of land in private and public hands where that own- as Common Grazings represents some 810,000 hectares
ership is seen to be impeding the full and desirable of land, a significant area on which to get new forest
growth of the rural economy. The general pri nciple economy activities rolling. It should be straightforward
should be that the transferrence of land would take enou gh to amend existing legislation to allo w a com-
place at a rate determined by demand for land from munity to grow trees, for inst ance, instead of sheep
people themselves. . on this communal land - something th e SCD are
vigorously seeking at present.t" In time, the private
3.22 The new stewards of the land will be townships ownership that still underlies the Common Grazings
and communities who will manage it for the benefit of will be more easily dissolved.
all.
3.25 A gradual erosion of the powers and control of
3.23 It will be remembered that the HIDB itself had the big estates is also necessary. Green Parties have long
early aims of reappropriating old pre-Clearance croft - advocated a Community G round Rent syste m whe re
lands thereby allowing for the crea ion of new crofting all land is rateable on the basis of its potential pro-
townships .I" This idea should be reconsidered. It ductivity. These dues are paid directly into local gov-
would be a relatively simple matter to reallocate land ernment funds and tend .to prevent landowners from
from Governmental Departments such as th e D epart- holding their land in states of such low productivity and
ment ofAgriculture and Fisheries (D AF S), Ministry of population.
Defence (MOD) and Forestry Commission (FC) to
community ownership as th ese holdings already belong
to the community in a manner of speaking.
COMMUNI TY FORESTRY
"Community forestry is not a technology: u lS a
CREATING NEW CROFTS process of social change that requires the continuous
Under the Land Settlement Act of 1919, the DAFS participation of whole communities in planninj: and
(and before it theCongested Districts Board) madea problem solving. Peoplemustwillingly give up land-
great many compulsory land purchases for the pur- use practices and privileges to which they have long
pose ofresettlement. Though thelasttime these pow- been accustomed. Su ch a process O J cooperative be-
ers were used was in 1952, it is worth remembering havioural change, nevereasytobringaboutanyway ,
that in thepreceding 55 years they were used to create is especially unlikely where grossly unequal land
2776 new crofts and enlarge a further 5168 in the tenure and marketing systems ensure that a powerful
Highlands and Islands. The act is stillon thestatute minority will capture nearly all the benefits of any
book and could be "reactivated" at any time.31 economic gains. ,,20

29
• • __ VAUA.t"A_ A _ _ _ _ A_U _
~ .LUU1~ U L lUU U ", a u u L~UU · LV }.Jl~V~UL .laUUVvvu~.l;:) .l.lV.lU
~~A_ ~ A_A~U._AJ A U _ ~ ~_ A ~~ U~ ~ _
3.26 That erosion could also be started by changes in 3.27 These simplest steps of Land Reform should be
laws concerning game. It has after all only been in the carried out first and would in themselves provide suffi-
last 400 years that estates have assumed their preposter- cient land for the genesis of the new economy even
ous control over this communal resource. Local man- before tackling the thorniest problems of private land-
agement groups representing the wider community ownership.
could be set up initially to commence the fairer
distribution of the eroducts and proceeds of wildlife
culls and 'sport'. .C

REFERENCES
1. Grainger A. (1981) Reforesting Britain: The Ecologist Vol 11 18. Lovins A. & L. ( 986) Energy - what 's the problem?: T he
No 2. Ecologist.
2. McVean D.N . & Lockie J.D. (1969) Ecology and land use in 19. Grouer I. (1984) For est management in Bulgaria: Unasylva Vol
upland Scotland : Edin burgh Univ . Press . 36 No 145.
3. Dar ling Sir F .F.: essay in "T he Future of Th e Highland s" . 20. Shiva V. et al (1986) Social For estry - No solution within the
4. Darling Sir F .F . (1947) Natural History in the Highlands and mark et. Th e Ecologist.
Islands: London, Collins. 21. Verma D . (1987) Th e In ternational Tr ee Crops Journ al Vol 4
5. MacBrayne C.G. (1981) Forest grazing: what can Britain learn No 2/3. (Several papers on Social Forestry in this issue).
from New Zealand ?: Scot. For . 35 No 1. 22. Dul verton Lord (1977) Th e Fassfern Story: Forestry and
6. Gimingham C.H . (1975) An introd uction to heathland ecology: British Timber 14-16.
Oliver & Boyd , Edinb urgh. 23. Von Maydell H . (1985) The contri bution of agroforestry to
7. R .S.P.B. (1987) Forestry in the Flows of Caithness and Suther- world forestry development: Agroforestry Systems Vol 3 No 2.
land . 24. Lilburn A. (1981) Norway, RSFS T our 1980: Scot. For. Vol
8. Callander R. (1986) The place of trees in the Highlands: in 35.
Land ownership and use, Andrew Fletcher Society. 25. McHattie A. (1966) Crofti ng - Is there a future?: In Land
9. Maitland P .S. (1987) The potential impact of fish culture on ownership and use, The Fletcher Society.
wild stocks of Atlantic Salmon in Scotland . 26. Watson A. & Watson D. (1986) Scottish land-holding and its
10. Scottish Wildlife and Countryside Link (1988): Marine fish social and cultural aspects compared with Swiss and Scandina-
farming in Scotland . vian: In Land ownership and use, The Fletcher Society.
11. Callander R. (1987) A pattern of landownership in Scotland : 27. Evans J . (1986) Plantation forestry in the tropics - tren ds and
Haughend Publications. prospects: Interna tional Tree Crops jo urnal 4.
12. Armstrong A. (1986) Absentee landowners in the Highlands: 28. Scottish Office (1988): Central Scotland Woodland s.
Scottish Forestry Vol 40 No 2. 29. Carty T . (1985) Th e HIDB : A vehicle for Land Reform in
13. Rao Y.S . (1985) Building success through people's participa- Scotland ?: In "The land for the people" , Scottish Socialist
tion : Unasylva 147 Vol 37. Society.
14. Tomialo ic L. (1988) Birds magazine: Poland 's primeval forest. 30. Scottish Crofters Union: Fore stry - opportunities for crofting
14. Tomial ojc L. (1988) Birds magazine: Poland's prim eval forest. 30. Scottish Crofters Union: Fore stry - opportunities for crofting
15. Banoun et al (1984) The pop lar : a multi-purp ose tree for involvement : Discu ssion paper .
forestry development : Unasylva Vol 36 No 145. 31. Hunter J. (1986) Th e DAFS Crofting Estate s: A case for
16. Hayes D. (1977) Plant power: The Ecologist Vol 7 No 9. Community Contr ol?: in Land ownership and use, Th e Fletch-
17. Bunyard P. (1986) Sweden - choosing the right energy path: er Society.
The Ecologist Vol 16 No 1.

30
 EDUCATION FOR THE FOREST ECONOMY
"Partly because ofthis long-term domination of land-holding andland-use bypeople usually
outside the local vernacular community, general knowledge about the landuse practices and
planning, and participation in them, have been largely lost from the local population in
Scotland . . . Scottish LocalAuthorities dolittle toeducate people in landuse. Understanding
is an essential prerequisite forparticipation. It would help ifschool children were given more
education in the language, tradition, social history, land holding and landuse of their
neighbourhood. These are virtually untreated at primary school andscarcely touched upon at
secondary school. Children maystudy history andgeography, yet remain ignorant oftheir own
cultural and landuse Background. Hence they are more likely to turn their backs on the
community by emigrating.,, 26
We hope that, if nothing else, this GREEN PARTY MANIFESTO makes some
contribution to thatprocess of education essential tothesustainable development oftherural
Highlands that is in everyone's interest, no matter of what political persuasion.

Further copies of this Manifesto are available at £4.50 each including p&p,
from the Land-Use Working Group, Highland Green Party, Duartbeg,
Scourie, Sutherland IV27 4TJ.

SCOTIISH GREEN PARTY

POBOX 14080
EDINBURGH
EH106YG

Printed on100% recycled paper byHighland Printers, 13 Henderson RlJiiiI~ Jnverness.

Price £4.50

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