Sustainable uplands: Communicating and learning to live with change
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Sch of Geography
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
| Title | What if managing carbon and wildlife became the top priority for our hill farmers? |
| Description | Film exploring what might happen if we focussed upland management on carbon capture - contains inputs from stakeholders and scientists. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Impact | UK Peatland Code was launched |
| Title | What would improving UK food security mean for our hills? |
| Description | Recent rises in food prices have made us all aware how important it is to ensure daily essentials are widely available and affordable in the long term. As a result, governments around the world, including our own in the UK, are increasingly interested in improving food security. This could mean changes in Britain's upland areas. If we want to become more self-sufficient in food, we will need to use more land, and we will need to manage the land we are already using more intensively. This film shows what the impacts might be - note it is just a scenario to get people thinking. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Impact | UK Peatland Code was launched |
| Description | The Sustainable Uplands project has considered how UK uplands might change under future social, economic and environmental conditions. It has identified a range of innovative and practical solutions to help people cope with and harness these changes and has identified ways policy-makers can support adaptation in Britain's hills. This follow-on project has communicated findings from the Sustainable Uplands project to interested parties and lay audiences. Example outputs from the work include: a DVD with four short films describing the project and some findings (also available on YouTube); a new knowledge exchange website for interested parties to upload information, and exchange ideas: www.ouruplands.co.uk; a workshops for the Scottish Executive and Pack inquiry (and follow-up policy activity); a workshop for the Westminster policy community (and follow-up activity); newsletters, fliers and posters (for stakeholder community and for those attending tourist visitor centres) and policy briefing documents; workshops for three regional stakeholder communities (Nidderdale, Peak District, Southern Uplands); commentary articles in local newspapers by the research team (e.g. Yorkshire Post) as well as widespread media coverage (e.g. BBC breakfast TV, BBC Radio 4, Radio Teesdale, Radio Scotland, Guardian etc). The dissemination work led to impacts including: findings included in the official IUCN UK inquiry on peatlands; the Commission for Rural Communities Inquiry into the future of England's uplands reported to the Prime Minister in June 2010 featured many of our recommendations verbatim; and use by Natural England of our approaches and networks in the Ecosystem Service Pilot scheme for the South Pennines. |
| Exploitation Route | We ran three regional workshops and two national/policy workshops. Workshop presentation slides and programmes are available on ESRC Society Today. An overview report of workshop activity is available as an output. Four key policy recommendations are: 1) Link agricultural payments more effectively to provision of ecosystem services; 2) Remove policy barriers to facilitate peatland restoration via carbon markets; 3) Re-consider a levy on extractive uses of peat and 4) Establish a national partnership of upland researchers, policy makers and practitioners to share knowledge and develop a shared agenda for future research. Additional policy recommendations are provided in the two new Policy and Practice Notes available as project outputs on ESRC Society Today along with a number of short newsletters with project information and other documents suitable for tourist visitor centres. We have followed up our workshops by being invited to internal discussions within organizations such as Defra and water companies to support policy implementation and to aid decision-making involving allocation of funds in the uplands. Workshops revealed some barriers to policy which may result in exacerbating the gaps between the urban and rural communities. For example, while there are multiple incentives for the rural community to take on renewable energy generation, there is an infrastructural problem in many upland areas as the power lines are not capable of supplying the new energy generation to the grid. There are also barriers in relation to the EU Water Framework Directive which reduces the opportunities for hydropower. However, there could also be opportunities for private companies and communities to empower themselves through innovative solutions to these issues, but the policy community will need to fully engage with such issues to realize these solutions. The original project co-developed a wide range of scenarios for the future with stakeholders which were then explored in our modeling. However, to simplify communication of outcomes from integrated social science and science modeling we boiled things down to two extreme (but plausible) scenarios in our short films. The films i) explain the project; ii) explain what we mean by 'scenarios' (animated film) and iii) present ideas from the two scenarios. Feedback on the films has been very positive and the films are clearly leading to enhanced debate within the stakeholder communities. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Description | Example impacts: • Research findings used in Defra/UNEP National Ecosystem Assessment. • Influenced International Union for the Conservation of Nature UK peatlands inquiry policy options for sustainable management, to lobby UK Government and EU CAP reform. • Supported Commission for Rural Communities Inquiry into the Future of England's Uplands, reporting to the Prime Minister in June 2010 - featured our recommendations prominently (in some cases verbatim). • Contributed case study as part of the Scottish Government Rural Land Use Study reporting to the Rural Land Use Summit, late 2009. • Presented findings to policy advisors from Scottish Government's Pack Inquiry into the Future of Agricultural Payments in Scotland and the Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate who are leading the Land Use Strategy. • Invited to present recommendations to Defra lead on their Review of Upland Policy • Work on carbon highlighted in a Value for Money report for the Public Accounts Committee, compiled by the National Audit Office for UK Government. • Project evidence to EFRA inquiry on farming in the uplands published at http://tinyurl.com/34qb88n • Moors for the Future partnership requested a Social Network Analysis to help inform membership expansion. • Input into Nidderdale AONB Management Plan • Stakeholders such as British Association for Shooting & Conservation and Somerset Wildlife Trust asked for our help in supporting their work. • After seeing the project films a member of the Borders Forest Trust (BFT) asked if the films could be shown at future BFT events. • Informed water company business plans being implemented directly within industry (some of this has confidentiality clauses and cannot be reported directly in this form). • Project Twitter stream has over 800 followers. • Media coverage in The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post (three times), Press and Journal (twice), Biosciencetechnology.com, Green Future magazine, Scottish Farmer, Radio Teesdale and Scotland. • Project presented at Pennsylvania State University workshop on adapting to climate change. The presentation led to a new international network on stakeholder engagement and participatory research. • Project selected as one of the top ten ways the University of Leeds has made the world more sustainable. The project influenced government position on upland/peatland management and directly contributed to development of Defra actions. The findings and recommendations were used in the Defra/UNEP National Ecosystem Assessment. The project also influenced the International Union for the Conservation of Nature UK Peatlands Inquiry policy options for sustainable management and directly supported the Commission for Rural Communities Inquiry into the Future of England's Uplands, reporting to the Prime Minister in June 2010 which featured our recommendations prominently (some verbatim). A key development has been policy shift towards facilitating private investment in upland management. Yorkshire Water, for example, are investing £9M in catchment management change (with multiple benefits) which as a result saves an estimated £12M in developing new water treatment systems. We were commissioned by Defra to write a report to feed into the Natural Environment White Paper (Spring 2011) and are working closely with Defra and IUCN to develop a UK peatland carbon code to enhance private investment in peatlands for carbon capture. Social impact has included increased awareness of the importance of upland processes for society (e.g. British Science Festival, press coverage, project films uploaded on You Tube watched 1800 times, 1204 Twitter followers, the www.ouruplands.co.uk website, a song, music video and children's story specially commissioned about the project findings) and the project was cited in the Value for Money report for the Public Accounts Committee and fed directly into the Nidderdale AONB Management Plan and their bid for a Nidderdale NIA Partnership. Defra staff have been influenced by our project in their policy discussions on payments for ecosystem services (PES). This was supported by our project findings plus workshops, an additional funded project on "barriers & opportunities for PES", and a review of international PES guidelines to support them in designing a tender specification for the UK context (done as part of Dr Reed's placement). Senior Defra staff have also been influenced by our policy briefs and seminars on proposals for a UK Peatland Carbon Code as part of GHG accounting guidelines. They requested we produce for them a step-by-step guide to producing the UK's first regulated scheme to facilitate peatland restoration using carbon finance. PES related findings have been disseminated to upland National Parks via the UK National Park Authorities Annual Conference and a Northern Rural Network workshop, leading to a funding proposal for the UK's first nationwide visitor payback scheme across five upland National Parks. We have been helping to shape actions being delivered by the CRC / "St George's House" meeting on the uplands by being part of the group. The first report was endorsed by HRH Prince of Wales. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
| Sector | Environment |
| Impact Types | Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | UK peatland code launched |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | Formal regulation and economic instrument to support business investment in peatland restoration - run by the UK government and supported by all devolved governments. Launched in November 2015. https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/3793/peatland_code_could_significantly_cut_greenhouse_gas_emissions |
| URL | http://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/peatland-code |
| Description | April 2010 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Sustainable Uplands project is continuing to communicate its research outcomes to current stakeholders, policy-makers and new audiences.We would like to share some highlights of the last few months with you as well as let you know about our upcoming Sustainable Uplands workshops, where we'll be presenting and inviting participants to discuss some of the research findings of the project. Further discussions with stakeholders |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~lecmsr/sustainableuplands/downloads/Mid%20Year%20Update.pdf |
| Description | Better targeting of hill aid urged : radical rethink in way LFA cash is distributed |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Article about the Sustainable Uplands project findings The Press and Journal |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1624559 |
| Description | Four ways to cost-effectively protect the uplands |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Part of the Westminster Policy Workshop New government scheme launched |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Sharing ideas will shape future of our uplands |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Describes some of the work of the Sustainable Uplands project Yorkshire Post |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/opinion/Joseph-Holden-Sharing-ideas-will.6146525.jp |
| Description | Sustainable uplands : how can policy address an uncertain future for UK uplands? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | paper presentation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Seminar held at Westminster organised by members of the Sustainable uplands project research team. Policy makers and their staff attended. Drive forward policy and overcome policy barriers New government policy launched |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Sustainable uplands : research outcomes, Peak District |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on the results of the Sustainable uplands project. Further stakeholder engagement and interest |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://www.slideshare.net/lecmsr/sustainable-uplands-results-presentation |
| Description | Sustainable uplands : research outcomes, Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | End of project presentation given at a workshop held at Moffat House Hotel, Moffat, Scotland. Work towards a new government policy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://www.slideshare.net/lecmsr/sustainable-uplands-end-of-project-presentation-given-at-moffat-hou... |
| Description | Sustainable uplands project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Part of the Westminster Policy Workshop A new government scheme was launched. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Sustainable uplands project : research outcomes |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was presented at a workshop held in Pateley Bridge, Nidderdale, England. New government policy launched |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://www.slideshare.net/lecmsr/sustainable-uplands-results-presentation-4496281 |
| Description | Update on "high ground, high potential" report |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Part of the Westminster Policy Workshop New government scheme launched |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Winter 2009 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Sustainable Uplands project has been making great progress over the past 4 years and the project has now been awarded 12-month's additional funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). This funding is primarily for communicating the findings of the project to current stakeholders, policy-makers, as well as a new, wider audience. The whole research team are very excited about the year ahead and look forward to working with all of you to ensure the outcomes of the Sustainable Uplands project are communicated in the most effective way! Further requests for information |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| URL | http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~lecmsr/sustainableuplands/documents.htm |