Jayne Glass
Researcher at Department of Earth Sciences; Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
- E-mail:
- jayne.glass@geo.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Villavägen 16
75236 Uppsala - Postal address:
- Villavägen 16
75236 Uppsala
Affiliated Researcher at Uppsala University Future Institutes (UUniFI); UUniFI Goal Conflicts
- E-mail:
- jayne.glass@geo.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Segerstedthuset, Dag Hammarskjölds v 7
751 05 Uppsala - Postal address:
- Box 256
751 05 Uppsala
- ORCID:
- 0000-0002-7683-0428
Short presentation
I am a rural and environmental social scientist with specific interests in landscape governance and community resilience. I have extensive experience of qualitative research, with high policy impact. I often work with stakeholders within and outside academia, most recently in the LANDPATHS project that focuses on multifunctional landscapes in Sweden. In recognition of my postgraduate teaching and supervision, I was Honorary Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh 2016-2024.
Keywords
- sustainability
- hållbarhet
- rural development
- land use
- landscape governance
- land reform
- natural capital
- rural policy
- environmental social science
- rural social science
- multifunctional landscapes
- community resilience
- poverty and social exclusion
- stakeholder participation
- environmental management
- landsbygdsutveckling
- markanvänding
- markförvaltning
- multifunktionella landskap
Biography
I have always had a deep interest in the interactions between people and the natural environment. The resilience of rural communities has been a long-term focus of my work, particularly in the context of land tenure and the power relations between different actors and institutions.
I studied geography as an undergraduate at the University of Oxford (2000-2003) and received an MSc in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh in 2006. I began my research on Scottish land ownership and land reform in 2007 as a PhD student at the Centre for Mountain Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), with my doctorate awarded by the University of Aberdeen. This work led to a postdoc in 2011 and many more years of high policy impact research at UHI on Scottish land reform and land use policy (awarded a 4* impact case in the UK Research Excellent Framework in 2021) and two books published by Edinburgh University Press: Lairds, Land and Sustainability: Scottish perspectives on upland management (2013) and Land Reform in Scotland: history, law and policy (2020). I was also appointed by Scottish Government as an external advisor on wild deer management (2017-2019).
I joined the Rural Policy Centre at Scotland's Rural College in 2019, where I continued to deliver a wide range of applied and theoretical research for government and other public agencies. My research at SRUC included high impact work for the Council of Europe on rural young people, and research on rural poverty in the UK (including child poverty). A significant part of the rural poverty work was published in my third book: Rural Poverty Today - experiences of social exclusion in rural Britain (Policy Press, 2023).
In 2021-2022, I was a visiting researcher in the Natural Resources and Sustainable Development programme in the Department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala University. I became a researcher in the programme in late 2022. In recognition of my teaching at the University of Edinburgh, I was appointed Honorary Lecturer in the School of Geosciences (2016-2024).
In 2023, I finished the third edition of Managing Scotland's Environment with Charles Warren from the University of St Andrews. This fully revised and updated book about environmental management in Scotland was published by Edinburgh University Press in early 2024.
All of my publications are listed below and it is possible to follow my work on LinkedIn and Bluesky. I am also an Associate Editor for Ambio - A Journal of Environment and Society.
Research
Current projects
Conflicts between conservation and production - a new research network at Uppsala University that aims to catalyse innovative thinking and problem-solving for conflicts between biodiversity conservation and the productive uses of landscapes (e.g. agriculture, forestry, energy). Funded by the Uppsala University Conflicting Objectives Research Nexus (UUniCORN).
LANDPATHS: Future multifunctional landscapes in Sweden - a large research programme that aims to promote multifunctional landscapes that are both biodiversity rich and provide multiple benefits for a range of actors. Funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, in collaboration with the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.
NEXOGENESIS: Streamlining water-related policies - a European collaborative project funded under the Horizon 2020 programme, focussing on improving policies related to the water-energy-food-ecosystem (WEFE) nexus.
MultiForSe: Multi-use forestry, private forest ownerships and social learning networks - research on family forest owners as grassroots agents for alternative forest management practices in Sweden. Funded by Formas, the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development.
Current doctoral students
Anna Berg Grimstad - Exploring synergies and barriers between political strategies for climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection.
Nairomi Eriksson - Navigating conflicts in Swedish land-use governance: local challenges to fulfilling EU goals of nature restoration and nature-based solutions.
Karoline Hermansson - Environmental politics and rural-urban divides
Fanny Möckel - Deliberative approaches in support of multifunctional landscape governance.
Lorna Pate (Scotland's Rural College, UK) - Understanding farmers' antibiotic use on dairy farms.
Beatrice Øian Onn - Climate change adaptation through assisted migration in Sweden: barriers and opportunities (part of the ANAFOR project).
Former doctoral students (defended)
Björn Eriksson - Trouble on the blue horizon: An investigation into environmental, social and political challenges for sustainable ocean governance.
Alasdair Bachell - University of the Highlands and Islands, UK. The potential for the refurbishment of historic hydro power generation for the benefit of local communities in the Highlands and Islands region.
Jessica Roberts - University of York, UK. The deconstruction of volcanic risk. Case study – Galeras, Colombia.

Publications
Recent publications
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Co‐evolution of social learning and plurality of values in the multiple‐use of forests in Sweden
Part of People and Nature, 2026
- DOI for Co‐evolution of social learning and plurality of values in the multiple‐use of forests in Sweden
- Download full text (pdf) of Co‐evolution of social learning and plurality of values in the multiple‐use of forests in Sweden
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Part of Ambio, 2026
- DOI for Governing environmental complexity: Exploring coherence across EU climate and biodiversity strategies
- Download full text (pdf) of Governing environmental complexity: Exploring coherence across EU climate and biodiversity strategies
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Part of Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2026
- DOI for Multifunctional landscapes in Sweden: How the concept is understood and implemented in research and practice
- Download full text (pdf) of Multifunctional landscapes in Sweden: How the concept is understood and implemented in research and practice
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Conceptualising ecosystems for water-energy-food Nexus research and practice
Part of Discover Water, 2026
- DOI for Conceptualising ecosystems for water-energy-food Nexus research and practice
- Download full text (pdf) of Conceptualising ecosystems for water-energy-food Nexus research and practice
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Part of Political Geography, 2026
- DOI for Restoring landscapes to build common futures: Land redistribution and environmental action in rural Scotland
- Download full text (pdf) of Restoring landscapes to build common futures: Land redistribution and environmental action in rural Scotland
All publications
Articles in journal
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Co‐evolution of social learning and plurality of values in the multiple‐use of forests in Sweden
Part of People and Nature, 2026
- DOI for Co‐evolution of social learning and plurality of values in the multiple‐use of forests in Sweden
- Download full text (pdf) of Co‐evolution of social learning and plurality of values in the multiple‐use of forests in Sweden
-
Part of Ambio, 2026
- DOI for Governing environmental complexity: Exploring coherence across EU climate and biodiversity strategies
- Download full text (pdf) of Governing environmental complexity: Exploring coherence across EU climate and biodiversity strategies
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Part of Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2026
- DOI for Multifunctional landscapes in Sweden: How the concept is understood and implemented in research and practice
- Download full text (pdf) of Multifunctional landscapes in Sweden: How the concept is understood and implemented in research and practice
-
Conceptualising ecosystems for water-energy-food Nexus research and practice
Part of Discover Water, 2026
- DOI for Conceptualising ecosystems for water-energy-food Nexus research and practice
- Download full text (pdf) of Conceptualising ecosystems for water-energy-food Nexus research and practice
-
Part of Political Geography, 2026
- DOI for Restoring landscapes to build common futures: Land redistribution and environmental action in rural Scotland
- Download full text (pdf) of Restoring landscapes to build common futures: Land redistribution and environmental action in rural Scotland
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Reimagining rural policy through mission-led governance
Part of Geographical Journal, 2025
- DOI for Reimagining rural policy through mission-led governance
- Download full text (pdf) of Reimagining rural policy through mission-led governance
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Part of Forest Policy and Economics, 2025
- DOI for Unlocking a transition to alternative forest management in intensive management contexts: Stakeholder perceptions of constraints and opportunities in Sweden
- Download full text (pdf) of Unlocking a transition to alternative forest management in intensive management contexts: Stakeholder perceptions of constraints and opportunities in Sweden
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Natural capital approaches to decision-making for collaborative landscape governance
Part of Environmental Science and Policy, 2025
- DOI for Natural capital approaches to decision-making for collaborative landscape governance
- Download full text (pdf) of Natural capital approaches to decision-making for collaborative landscape governance
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Rural lives during COVID-19: crisis, resilience and redistributing societal risk
Part of Scottish Geographical Journal, p. 49-69, 2024
- DOI for Rural lives during COVID-19: crisis, resilience and redistributing societal risk
- Download full text (pdf) of Rural lives during COVID-19: crisis, resilience and redistributing societal risk
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Part of Community Development, p. 187-205, 2023
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Translating community resilience theory into practice: A deliberative Delphi approach
Part of Sociologia Ruralis, p. 675-698, 2022
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Perceived Causes and Solutions to Soil Degradation in the UK and Norway
Part of Land, 2022
- DOI for Perceived Causes and Solutions to Soil Degradation in the UK and Norway
- Download full text (pdf) of Perceived Causes and Solutions to Soil Degradation in the UK and Norway
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Part of Research for All, 2022
- DOI for How can impact strategies be developed that better support universities to address twenty-first-century challenges?
- Download full text (pdf) of How can impact strategies be developed that better support universities to address twenty-first-century challenges?
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Have farmers had enough of experts?
Part of Environmental Management, p. 31-44, 2022
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What future for Scotland's uplands?
Part of The Geographer, p. 6-7, 2020
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Part of Scottish Geographical Journal, p. 172-191, 2017
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Scotland’s Conservation Landowners
Part of The Munro Society Journal, p. 129-136, 2016
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Mountains and Scotland’s communities
Part of The Geographer, p. 21-21, 2015
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The Centre for Mountain Studies Contributes to Sustainable Mountain Development at All Scales
Part of Mountain Research and Development Journal, p. 103-107, 2013
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Part of Land use policy, p. 254-265, 2013
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Part of Land Degradation and Development, p. 261-271, 2011
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Part of Ecology and Society, p. 1-10, 2010
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Access to the Hills: Five Years On
Part of The Munro Society Journal, p. 67-72, 2010
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Part of Land use policy, 2009
Books
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Managing Scotland's Environment
Edinburgh University Press, 2024
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Rural Poverty Today: Experiences of Social Exclusion in Rural Britain
Policy Press, 2023
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Lairds, Land and Sustainability: Scottish perspectives on upland management
Edinburgh University Press, 2013
Chapters in book
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Part of Postcapitalist Countrysides, p. 143-166, UCL Press, 2025
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New insights into landownership and partnerships from the mountains of Scotland
Part of Safeguarding Mountain Social-Ecological Systems, Volume two, p. 183-186, Elsevier, 2024
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Changing sources of support: precarity, conditionality and social solidarity
Part of Rural Poverty Today, p. 191-211, Policy Press, 2023
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Policy and Governance Options for Peatlands Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Management
Part of Global Peatlands Assessment, p. 252-271, United Nations Environment Programme, 2022
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Does size really matter? Sustainable development outcomes from different scales of land ownership
Part of Land Reform in Scotland, p. 368-387, Edinburgh University Press, 2020
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Understanding sustainability in Scotland’s uplands
Part of Managing Upland Resources, p. 191-217, Whittles Publishing, 2018
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Getting active at the interface: how can sustainability researchers stimulate social learning?
Part of Learning for Sustainability in Times of Accelerating Change, Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2012
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Developing a sustainability assessment tool for upland estates
Part of The Changing Nature of Scotland, The Stationery Office, 2011
Collections (editor)
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Land reform in Scotland: history, law and policy
Edinburgh University Press, 2020
Manuscripts (preprints)
Reports
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Deliverable 5.7: Recommendations, experiences and lessons learned from allcase studies
2025
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Making sense of Nature-based Solutions: Governance, Knowledge and Justice Issues
2025
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Community Wealth Building: Approaches relevant to rural and island communities
2023
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2022
- DOI for Policy and Governance Options for Peatlands Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Management: Chapter 9 of 'Global Peatlands Assessment: The State of the World’s Peatlands - Evidence for Action toward the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of peatlands'
- Download full text (pdf) of Policy and Governance Options for Peatlands Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Management: Chapter 9 of 'Global Peatlands Assessment: The State of the World’s Peatlands - Evidence for Action toward the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of peatlands'
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Rural Land Market Insights Report: A report to the Scottish Land Commission
2022
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Regional Land Use Partnerships: Phase 1 Process Evaluation - Final Report
2022
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Improving our understanding of child poverty in rural and island Scotland
2022
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Learning from European Rural Movements: Research to inform a Scottish approach
2022
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2022
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Land Use Partnerships using a Natural Capital Approach: Lessons for Scotland
2022
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2022
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Place-based policies and the future of rural Scotland
2021
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Facilitating local resilience: case studies of place-based approaches in rural Scotland
2021
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Covid-19, lockdowns and financial hardship in rural areas: Insights from the Rural Lives project
2021
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Rural Lives: Understanding financial hardship and vulnerability in rural areas
2021
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2021
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2021
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Children and young people and rural poverty and social exclusion: A review of evidence
2020
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2020
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2020
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Case studies of island repopulation initiatives
2020
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2020
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Review of International Experience of Community, Communal and Municipal Ownership of Land
2020
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The Management of Wild Deer in Scotland: Report of the Deer Working Group
2020
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The role of the LEADER approach post-Brexit
2020
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Loch Arkaig Pine Forest: socio-economic baseline report
2019
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Investigation into the issues associated with large scale and concentrated landownership in Scotland
2019
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2019
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2018
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2018
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2018
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After Brexit: 10 key questions for rural policy in Scotland
2018
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2017
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2017
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2016
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2015
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2014
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2013
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2012
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Policy options for sustainable management of UK peatlands
2010