Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

136 Chapter 5: Land The concept of multiple benefits is not new: Scotland implemented a multiple benefits approach in its first land use strategy in 2011 (Scottish Government, 2011). Scotland has released two further land use strategies since 2011, both of which build on the initial strategy. Like Ireland, Scotland’s land is mostly in private ownership. The 2017 Scottish statement of land rights and responsibilities recognised the close relationship between land and people and that ‘land use and ownership contribute to the fulfilment of many human rights’ (Scottish Government, 2017). Managing land use to meet multiple needs requires a truly collaborative approach to understanding (sometimes competing) stakeholder requirements across different sectors at scales that can be implemented at a local level (Hölting et al ., 2020). Meaningful stakeholder engagement from the start is essential for the implementation of land use that provides multiple benefits (Dwyer and Wentworth, 2020). This is especially important in Ireland, given Ireland’s land ownership profile and the importance of community buy- in for land use decisions. Scotland’s current (and third) land use strategy recognises that demands on its land are growing and that addressing climate and nature emergencies requires changes in how land is used (Scottish Government, 2021). Scotland’s land use strategies illustrates the potential to move away from a siloed view of land use towards a recognition of land use as a system. Topic Box 5.2  Scotland’s land use strategies Scotland’s first land use strategy (Scottish Government, 2011) stated that, while Scotland’s land area is fixed, the benefits that land can deliver are not. The strategy noted that not all land benefits (or services) are visible to landowners and, with the right knowledge and support, land capacity could be better exploited in sustainable ways. Land use that delivers multiple benefits describes a land use approach that delivers various positive outcomes, often for more than one stakeholder. One example presented in Scotland’s land use strategy is an agroforestry land use approach whereby natural woodland on a farm provides shelter for livestock along with carbon retention and ecosystem benefits. Scotland second strategy (2016–2021) retained the vision and objectives of the first and sought to clarify how a land use strategy would support cross- sectoral, rather than sector-by-sector, approaches to land use (Scottish Government, 2016). The second strategy was followed by a statement of land rights and responsibilities (Scottish Government, 2017). Scotland’s third land use strategy presents an overarching vision of what sustainable land use in Scotland could look like, moving away from a sector- by-sector approach. The strategy presents seven representative landscapes with a vision for how each landscape would change if competing land uses were sustainably managed. Phase 1 of Ireland’s Land Use Review includes a review of 21 national land use plans (NLUPs) and strategies from other countries to assess their approaches to land use planning. The plans all took different approaches, but the concept of the interconnectedness of land use decisions and environmental (or natural) capacity was a common theme in many. Ecosystem services approaches were taken by Costa Rica, Iceland, Portugal and Switzerland. Portugal’s NLUP perceived ecosystem services as a way of differentiating regions and redistributing wealth, noting the importance of integrating ecosystem services into economic value chains. Costa Rica was an early adopter of payments for ecosystem services. To address low forest cover, a 1996 law paid landowners to convert agricultural land and livestock farming into agroforestry and silvopasture (combining trees and livestock). Payment was provided for mitigating GHG emissions and protecting biodiversity, water and/or scenic beauty. Costa Rica significantly increased its forest cover, and land has become a carbon sink (DAFM and DECC, 2023e). Another common theme across many of the NLUPs was the use of spatial data and models to help design and track land use decisions and interventions. Access to data through programmes such as the European Copernicus Land Monitoring Service offer great potential to track changes in land use, as they make it feasible to quickly assess the impacts of land use decisions. Ireland’s Land Use Review The 19 recommendations from phase 1 of Ireland’s Land Use Review address the data and evidence that should be developed to support land use plans in Ireland. Phase 1 recommended developing the ability to track and model Ireland’s land use as the integrated and interconnected system that it is. Phase 1 delivered a point-in-time assessment of Ireland’s land use: bringing together a complete set of integrated indicators would enable a constant or rolling review.