Karen Ramoo: Caring for our countryside is a job for everyone, not just those who live there

The summer has once again seen many thousands of people enjoying Scotland's outstanding countryside.
Karen Ramoo, Policy Officer (Conservation & Wildlife Management) at Scottish Land & EstatesKaren Ramoo, Policy Officer (Conservation & Wildlife Management) at Scottish Land & Estates
Karen Ramoo, Policy Officer (Conservation & Wildlife Management) at Scottish Land & Estates

From John O’Groats to Gretna Green, the natural beauty of rural Scotland makes it a ­treasured ­destination for both domestic and foreign tourists. For those who reside in the countryside, helping to care for our land and rivers and maintain this flow of visitors is a source of great pride.

Sadly, this beauty can sometimes be spoiled by a minority who don’t cherish these places.

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Now, Scottish Land & Estates has launched a new initiative called Care for the Countryside. The campaign is supported by a range of organisations, including the Scottish Government, Scottish Natural Heritage, Zero Waste Scotland and Police Scotland, not to mention many farms and estates across the country.

The campaign was propelled by a desire to promote a positive message that encourages more people to visit our countryside whilst also asking those same people to help us convey why caring for rural Scotland is so important.

We and other stakeholder groups regularly hear reports from across Scotland about incidents that place a significant burden on those who manage our countryside.

Some of these topics do receive attention – Police Scotland’s efforts to tackle sheep worrying have been highlighted in recent months whilst problems stemming from wild camping around Loch Lomond and the Trossachs attracted the attention of many different commentators.

Yet, there remains a need to ensure everyone can enjoy the land responsibly. The initiative is backed by ­publicity materials promoting safe and responsible access to the countryside, designed to increase awareness about the problems that exist but often go widely unreported – and what people can do to help address these issues.

Three initial areas have been chosen as a focus for the campaign.

The first is flytipping. Many farmers and landowners across Scotland will have experienced this blight, with remote areas as well as those on urban fringes susceptible to unscrupulous rubbish dumping. In serious cases, it can lead to a scenario where a rural business finds itself liable for a bill of thousands of pounds to clean up land that has been fly-tipped.

Building on the work of organisations such as Zero Waste Scotland, we are highlighting how problem waste can be safely disposed of and how those who care for our countryside can help tackle those who are intent on flytipping without any thought to the consequences.

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Responsible mountain biking is the second area of the Care for the Countryside initiative. Mountain biking has enjoyed a boom in popularity, and specially built trails such as ­Glentress and Witch’s Trails, near Fort William, have captured the public’s imagination. However, with that popularity has come negatives. Whilst the vast majority of riders who access rural land do so responsibly, there are increasing examples of where problems have occurred.

Landowners and land managers have experienced problems relating to unauthorised trail building with the discovery of engineered tracks and structures, developed without consent. Building tracks and features on someone else’s land is not an activity covered by the right of access in Scotland and these trails potentially puts the landowner into a situation of being found liable if a third-party injures themselves.

In deciding to build a new route or structure, there are considerations a landowner or manager would need to take into account before proceeding, such as conflict with other access takers, impact on biodiversity and impact/conflict with land management practices.

In the case of unauthorised trails, none of this is possible since the builders are unknown to the owner or manager. However, once an owner or manager knows that such trails exist, ignoring them or doing nothing is not a sensible option.

In particular, unauthorised trail building presents a real danger and we have seen scenarios where riders have seriously injured themselves riding on trails that are dangerous. With the assistance of Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland, we are promoting the message of safe mountain biking for all.

The final area builds on the work of Police Scotland as mentioned earlier: responsible dog ownership in the countryside.

From minor niggles, such as waste bags being discarded on trees and in bushes, to more serious problems of dogs threatening farm animals and birds – which can have serious repercussions for livelihoods – we want to make sure the responsibilities of dog owners are as readily understood as the rights to access our countryside.

We hope the campaign will help to highlight and alleviate some of the persistent problems that many farmers and landowners in Scotland face on a regular basis and in doing so, present the best possible experience for visitors to Scotland’s countryside during the rest of 2017 and into 2018 and beyond.

To read more about the initiative, visit www.scottishlandandestates.co.uk.

Karen Ramoo is Policy Officer (Conservation & Wildlife Management) at Scottish Land & Estates.

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