Agricultural land ownership and nature conservation: reconceptualising property to further environmental protection in Northern Ireland

The scale of the crisis in this jurisdiction cannot be underestimated. A number of factors have contributed to NI’s poor record in environmental governance but, as this thesis highlights, prevailing beliefs about the content and meaning of agricultural landholding have perhaps been overlooked in this narrative.

This thesis seeks to understand more clearly the relationship between agricultural landholding and nature conservation in this jurisdiction and explores how property might be reconceptualised in a way that is more attuned to conservation concerns. The thesis argues that property, or more specifically, property ideology, is a critical factor in shaping environmental outcomes. The project suggests that a progressive conception of property, with a focus on social values, may produce more positive environmental outcomes than a conservative, law and economics approach.