Laggan Forest Trust

Working in partnership with communities 

Pioneers of joint forest management

Governance in Britain evolved rapidly in the 1990’s, not only with the devolution from Westminster to Scotland but also through increased emphasis on citizen engagement and the citizen as customer and also a focus on achieving effective outcomes from public policy and service.

At the same time that these changes were happening an interest and desire for community empowerment in the management of rural land was developing. In the more remote areas such as Galloway and the north-west Highlands this was seen as a mechanism for rural development and reinvigorating the vitality of communities. On of the earliest examples was driven by local GP, Dr. Ian Richardson at Laggan, where the Laggan Forest Initiative was established in 1992.

Lord John Sewell, the Scottish Office Forestry Minister, launched the first formal partnership agreement between the Forestry Commission and the local community of Laggan in 1998.

Extract from Case Studies – Community Partnership.

Hugh Insley Chief Executive Officer, Forest Enterprise Scotland