Local area farming Plans - a common reality for farmers and conservationists in the Scottish Highlands?

This paper supports the need for new policy developments to produce farm conservation plans specific to local areas. It explores attitudes to land management for conservation and economic goals, and presents views of farmers and local conservationists. who are directly involved in agri-environmental and farm woodland schemes. in three regions of the Highlands of Scotland. It reviews the Current State of Scottish agri-environmental schemes, and presents results of on-farm workshops conducted with farmers and conservationists and discusses common management plan approaches for environmental action. It Concludes that farmers and conservationists are already considering the advantages of local area planning at a local area level and agree that there should be focus on addressing local site specific issues which take into account both the whole farm and its wider environment.