Back to the land: legislative design for ecological land governance in the UK

This research addresses how law constrains and facilitates environmental decision-making in the UK. The focus is on land governance at multiple scales. Using socio-legal and comparative methodologies, the research examines two main legal contexts: land governance frameworks and their implementation in each devolved nation; and case studies of organisations and groups practising ecological land governance at local scale. The role of law in environmental decision-making is assessed and recommendations will be provided in each context. The intention is to provide an in-depth study of land governance in the UK, test innovations in UK environmental law and ecological land management at local scales and set out the legislative design needed to facilitate positive environmental decision-making from local to national levels. The research is of wider public interest in its relevance for environmental governance and for environmental organisations. The central question of how law and policy constrain and facilitate positive environmental decision-making is addressed throughout.
The need for effective environmental decision-making in response to current global environmental challenges is well-recognised. Land governance has always occupied a central place in social, economic and political life, framing livelihoods, sustaining economic activity and acting as the basis for political organisation. There is growing recognition that local ecological land management - land management that protects or regenerates the environment and benefits local communities - has the potential to meet global environmental challenges. International legal regimes, for example the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, acknowledge the need to address global challenges of climate change and poverty through sustainable management of natural resources at different scales and with participation of local communities.
In the UK, environmental matters are primarily the responsibility of the devolved administrations and there is considerable divergence and innovation in the respective regimes. Wales has provided for overarching 'well-being objectives' for public bodies in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015; for sustainable management of natural resources in the Environment (Wales) Act 2016; and for low-impact development in its planning policy. Scotland has provided for redistributive land reform in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016. Northern Ireland tells a different story of a deficit of environmental governance. The UK Government is currently proposing a new environmental governance regime in response to the prospective UK withdrawal from the European Union: a draft Environmental Principles and Governance Bill 2018 establishing a new enforcement body; an Agriculture Bill 2017 providing for a new agri-environment system; and the 25 Year Environment Plan proposing a new 'environmental land management system.' Each devolved administration is developing its own proposals. Within this legislative reform there is recognition of the role of local communities in environmental governance. The UK is indeed the location of much innovation in ecological land management at local scale by charitable organisations and community groups. The central question of this research is: can existing innovations in UK environmental law and ecological land management be integrated into a legislative framework that is effective in achieving a positive environmental impact?
The research is undertaken at the University of Sussex, School of Law, Politics and Sociology under the supervision of Professor Donald McGillivray, Head of Sussex Law School and Professor of Environmental Law, and Dr Bonnie Holligan, Lecturer in Property Law.