Putting theory into practice

As Britain's largest land manager, the Forestry Commission is a leader in restoration and management at a landscape-scale. The paper gives practical examples over the last 25 years including: the restructuring of Kielder Forest; heathland re-creation in Dorset; landscape-scale planning and restoration in the New Forest; conservation management in the western Cairngorms; and restoration of ancient woodland in England. It draws from Dutch and Polish models to look into the future, identifying socially driven low-intensity land management as the biggest opportunity for new landscape-scale conservation development. It identifies, as the key drivers to practical action: vision; scale; natural processes; people and partnerships.