1 The Push-Me-Pull-You of Forest Devolution in Scotland

homes to folk with leaves in their eyes (and mushrooms in their pockets) who dream of chasing animals among branching shadows, for whom the future is a tree-root that presses open rocks of the past, with whom all stems intertwine, in whom all saps and bloods and rivers mingle, under whose power a single bud becomes an eye, a wing, a soul, becomes the whole breathing planet. The 'push down ' of power through the process of devolution and decentralisation and the 'pull down ' of power through action on the ground are reaching an exciting stage in Scotland, especially in relation to the national forest estate. This is happening within a political context of devolution in the United Kingdom, with the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and control of Scotland's forest estate passing to the Scottish Executive (government in Scotland). This paper outlines both the political 'push down ' and the people's 'pull down ' of power and tells the story of the people's movement to get access to land and natural 2 resources, including forest resources. This movement has led to a Land Reform Act giving communities the right to acquire ownership of land, including woodlands, and to the establishment of over 100 community woodland organisations. It has also strongly influenced cultural and organisational changes within the national forest and rural development institutions. The paper shows how local (sometimes radical) efforts to pull down power can shape the decentralisation process at the national level. 1