Freedom with what? Interpretations of “responsibility” in Swedish forestry practice

Responsibility is a key aspect of all regulation, and forest regulation is no exception. How should responsibility be understood and used in a time characterized by complexity and uncertainty? This paper develops a typology that distinguishes six notions of responsibility and then employs it in analyzing interpretations of responsibility in Swedish forestry practice. The Swedish forest management system is a deregulated system structured by the governing principle of “freedom with responsibility.” By investigating how responsibility is understood and enacted by forest consultants and forest owners, we demonstrate the practical fluidity of the responsibility concept. We emphasize the need for an understanding of responsibility that fosters sensitivity and adaptiveness to external issues and actors in the face of uncertainty, and identify obstacles in current forestry policy and practice to enacting such an understanding.     

Evaluation of policy instruments for protective forest management in Austria

This paper is based on a research project studying policy instruments for natural hazards protection in Austria. It discusses two theoretical approaches concerning instruments for political control: policy analysis and systems theory. Because of the stronger empirical basis, policy analysis was applied as the theoretical framework of the study. The findings are discussed for explaining the three essential instruments which are presented in this paper: the regulation of protective forests (ban forests) as a regulatory instrument, a subsidy programme for the restoration of mountain forests as an economic instrument, and the restoration plan for mountain forests as an informational instrument. According to liberal principles, the regulations allocate the costs for mountain forest management to the forest owners and to the beneficiaries of the protective effects of the forest. To avoid conflicts, however, these regulations are not implemented. The forest authority chooses subsidies for the restoration of mountain forests instead. Planning instruments are rather used for legitimizing the subsidies than for rational planning. The evaluation shows that policies can be explained in a better way by the institutional setting and the interests and values of political actors than by the formal characteristics of policy instruments. Three major conclusions are drawn for the analyses of policy instruments: (a) in practical application, the informal functions of policy instruments are more important than their formal characteristics; (b) policy instruments must not be analysed separately as they are not applied independently from each other; (c) in policy research a typology of policy instruments is useful as a model of reference but must not be mistaken for either an explanatory or a normative concept.     

澳大利亚生物多样性保护管理及政策

澳大利亚有着丰富的生物多样性。文中列举了澳大利亚签署的与生物多样性有关的国际条约,从联邦和州/领地2个层面对澳大利亚生物多样性保护管理机构及相关法规政策进行梳理,重点介绍了澳大利亚森林遗传资源保护现状,最后做了简要总结。     

Reconstituting the role of indigenous structures in protected forest management in Cameroon

This article illustrates how institutional transitional processes influence the intended sustainability outcomes in protected forest management in Cameroon, using the case of the Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. The study revealed that the major setback in attaining sustainable forest management does not necessarily lie in the conflicting interests of actors, but also in the social processes that guided the negotiation of these conflicting interests. Processes initiated by bureaucratic institutions did not adequately appreciate the efforts of the existing indigenous structures. The differences in the modelling of social change by the agents of change had negative impacts on governance outcomes and disrupted collaborative actions. This study argues that indigenous structures should not just be regarded as mediators in the processes of forest management. Their actions are influenced by powerful actors (elites). They are thus embedded in complex configurations that can retard sustainable forest management processes. There is a need to carefully explore and understand the various contexts in which these complex configurations influence forest management in order to foster sustainable collaborative management.     

森林生物多样性减少的机理和保护对策研究

文章对国内外森林生物多样性减少的情况及原因进行了概述,认为保护生物多样性必须从根本原因着手,采用价格体系和市场机制等激励措施,阻止社会经济活动的过度扩张。研究森林生物多样性减少的机理和保护对策,对从深层次上掌握森林生物多样性保护面临的主要威胁和如何从根本上保护提供了第一手资料,对制定保护政策和公众参与等有重要的意义和推广应用价值。     

Forest discourses and the role of planning-related perspectives: the case of Sweden

Forest use in Sweden may be seen as constituting an essentially conflicted area, in which a number of actors position themselves. Based on a review of policy documents, this study reviews discourses on forest amongst major organisational actors between 2001 and 2011, with the aim of discussing the ways in which discourse may have changed following increasing criticism of the previously dominating production paradigm during the period. The study also discusses the ways in which forest discourses at present may also exclude areas that are relevant to forest planning. Results illustrates the continuous role of, on the one hand, production and private ownership discourses among the forest industry, and, on the other, conservation and public access discourses, among environmental and other NGOs. Large differences thus continue to exist despite the double aim towards production and protection in Swedish forest law. Areas that are not directly related to this nexus although related to land use at large, such as municipal planning, on the other hand, are largely absent from discourse even if, for instance, shore planning and wind power issues that are related to municipal planning are taken up.     

Powerful stakeholders as drivers of community forestry — Results of an international study

Community forestry is a complex collective action by forest users that takes place within a broader network of multiple actors at local, national and international levels. This paper looks at all relevant actors and tests the hypothesis of whether they have a significant influence on the outcomes of community forestry. The empirical basis comprises 57 cases of community forestry in four developing and one developed country. The cases were selected to represent a variety of political conditions and best practices, defined as success in the achievement of high outcomes. The actors were theoretically defined, and we identified political, economic and societal actors. Additionally, their power and interests were theoretically defined and observed in the field studies. The group of powerful actors desires specific outcomes for the local users of the community forests. As far as the ecological outcomes, some 40% of the powerful actors prefer sustained forest stands, and 20% also find biodiversity to be important. With regard to the economic contribution to the local users, 25% of powerful actors support only a subsistence level for the local users, and 25% prefer higher economic contributions. Within the social outcomes, 40% of powerful actors accept devolution of some information and decision rights to the local users, but only 2% would grant them full empowerment. The interests of the powerful actors were compared with the outcomes achieved in practice. A comparison shows that within each outcome there is a congruence of 82–90% between the interests of powerful actors and the outcomes for local users. We interpret these findings as empirical evidence that powerful actors have a significant influence on the outcomes of community forestry for the local users.     

Biological diversity indicators: A comparison of Swedish forest commons and other forest ownership categories

Abstract

Research indicates that natural resources managed in common, resembling traditional commons such as the Swedish forest commons, could be a type of regime with the potential to stimulate successfully sustainable use conditions. This is supported by findings regarding the characteristics of Swedish forest commons, their claimed concern for the environment and relatively high proportion of old forest in two out of three regions. Swedish environmental policy is directed towards environmental quality objectives and the Sustainable Forests objective states, among other things, that biological diversity must be maintained and enhanced. Swedish National Forest Inventory data for the period 2003–2006 were used to analyse differences between forest commons in northern Sweden and other ownership categories regarding the proportion of forestland with a large deciduous element, the proportion of forest older than 80 years with a large (> 25%) deciduous element, the volume of dead wood and the proportion of forest older than 140 years, parameters corresponding to the interim targets for enhanced biological diversity. The results show no consistent differences in indicator variables between the forest commons and other ownership categories, signifying that forests managed in common have been conducted in ways promoting biodiversity more effectively than in other ownership categories. Further studies of different ownership categories regarding driving forces and forest status are warranted.     

Faustmann in an uncertain policy environment

This paper deals with optimal forest rotation age and silvicultural investment under policy or regulatory uncertainty to which wasteful deforestation and lack of reforestation and afforestation efforts in the developing countries and loss of old growth forests and biodiversity in the developed countries are attributed. Incorporating a stochastic uncertainty factor into the familiar deterministic Faustmann formula yields a result that confirms with casual observations — when policy uncertainty is present, forest stands are harvested earlier and silvicultural investment is smaller than otherwise. The policy implication is that, in order to promote forest resource conservation, encourage afforestation and reforestation, and attack other forest-related problems effectively, the pervasive nature of policy uncertainty needs to be curbed.     

Conversion of forests into oil palm plantations in West Kalimantan,Indonesia: Insights from actors' power and its dynamics

Oil palm plantations have been touted as one of the main drivers of deforestation in Indonesia. This paper aims to explain how oil palm companies accumulate power that enables them to control forestland and convert it into oil palm. Specifically, this paper identifies empirical evidence pointing to why oil palm companies emerge as powerful actors in land use conflicts. This paper uses the case of forest lands claimed by different actors – i.e. a timber plantation company, an oil palm company, and local communities – in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Before the decentralisation policy, the interests of timber plantations were principally safeguarded by coercion from the forest ministry. The timber company was also supported by local communities by promising financial incentives to them. Following the decentralisation policy, additional actors get involved in the land use conflicts leading to more complex power interplays. In fact, some forestlands licensed for timber plantations are used by the oil palm company. Oil palm interests resonate with the economic interests of local governments, who use their legal mandates on land use allocation to facilitate the establishment of oil palm. The power of the oil palm company is also enhanced by the support from local communities, to which it handed more financial incentives than those of the timber plantation. It also used dominant information of customary claims and land appropriation by the ministry of forestry, with which it persuades local communities to pressurize government institutions to support oil palm operations.     

Forest edge length estimation – a case study using the Swedish National Forest Inventory (NFI)

Forest edges may affect the organisms in a forest fragment by changing biotic and abiotic conditions, and they have important effects on biodiversity. This characteristic of forest landscape is usually assessed using remotely sensed data. When doing so, forest edge length is estimated using either polygon delineation (manually or automatically) or sampling methods. This study attempts to estimate the total forest edge length (at regional level) using three estimation techniques: mapped plot, line intersects sampling, and buffer zone. Another aim is to compare the precision of the results using these techniques with field data from the Swedish National Forest Inventory (NFI). The Swedish NFI data allows reasonable precision (less than 10% SE) estimating total forest edge length. In most cases, line intersects sampling and mapped plot (at the subplot level) produce more precise estimates than buffer zone (at cluster level). All three techniques can be applied in monitoring programs aimed at measuring important biodiversity metrics from forest landscape patterns. It was also found that edge density was highest in the south of Sweden. Another future application worth investigating is the ability to determine how forest edge length metrics change over time.     

Translating institutional change - forest journals as diverse policy actors

Forest governance is in a state of change as the competition between different forest uses increases and as new interests such as those motivated by biodiversity conservations or carbon sequestration enter the policy scene. These changes are reflected in the renewed Finnish Forest Act from 2014, which is based on an underlying assumption that increasing freedom in the management will support the objectives of the renewal such as the promotion of more active and innovative uses of forests. But a change in law does not change practice automatically or linearly. We study the role of intermediary actors facilitating the objectives by focusing on specialized forest journals. Informed by the Narrative Policy Framework and the role of media therein, we show how these actors contribute to institutional change. We suggest that their roles can be understood by analyzing five key functions: informing, activating, interest promotion, self-promotion and marketing. We argue that these functions affect how a policy change is turned into practice. In this change specialized journals are not just intermediaries transmitting messages of change. They can also act as street level bureaucrats that actively influence practice or as lobbies that anxiously aim to maintain their positions. A careful analysis of the roles helps to understand why specialized journals that should be in forefront of progress in practice often promote incremental change rather than innovative alternatives.     

Developing and implementing participatory and ecosystem based multiple use forest management planning approach (ETÇAP): Yalnızçam case study

This paper explains the conceptual framework of ecosystem based multiple use forest management (ETÇAP) approach and its implementation in a case study area. The new management philosophy has four important pillars; integration of biodiversity conservation into forest management process, characterization and accommodation of multiple forest values, effective participation of stakeholders and the use of advanced information technologies and management science techniques. These components comprise a sound framework of a forest management planning system in Turkey as the ownership, land use policy, social structure and forest ecosystems are unique to the country. Among few implementation sites, some experiences from the case study area of Yanlızçam planning unit were documented to realize the performance of the concept. The liaison between the government institutions and major stakeholders is found necessary, and the effective use of geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) have been realized critically important to better communicate among stakeholders and generate precise database and the plan. The case study indicated that structured participation is an effective communication tool and has a better possibly to promote multiple use forest management rather than using participation as solo information gathering process. Primary challenges relate to the effectiveness of national conservation program, availability of coherent biodiversity data and adequacy of institutional capacity that involve awareness, training and common understanding of biodiversity and protected area concept; coordination among the related institutions and stakeholders, and willingness and enthusiasm of authorities to accept and implement the concept.     

Towards a donut regime? Domestic actors,climatization, and the hollowing-out of the international forests regime in the Anthropocene

Political responses to global deforestation, as a defining characteristic of the so-called Anthropocene, are a key field for scholarship and policy analysis. In the past decade, research has proliferated on global forest governance and the international forest regime (IFR), yet the academic literature on the IFR is just as dispersed and fragmented as the IFR itself. An emerging body of literature now suggests the key role of domestic actors in international forest governance, questioning an implicit top-down logic of global arrangements. In spite of all the resources at its disposal, the IFR is characterised by complexity, fragmentation and ineffectiveness regarding its main objective of reducing global deforestation.Based on an extensive literature review, the authors’ long-standing observations and selected own empirical findings, this review article aims to provide an updated historical account of the IFR and proposes a from-below approach for analysing the IFR from the viewpoint of domestic actors. In this bottom-up perspective the IFR is conceptualised as a set of resources that key domestic actors can pick and choose from according to their interests and in the light of domestic politics.Using illustrative empirical examples from recent research and own observations, the article finds that the IFR is being hollowed-out by (i) the growing policy links between forests and climate change - a process referred to as “climatization”- and (ii) domestic influences. We conclude that our from-below approach is instrumental in further explaining why deforestation has largely continued, despite the emergence of the IFR some three decades ago. Our findings about the importance of domestic actors illustrate that global governance arrangements cannot operate effectively, relative to their ambitious mandate and for tackling policy issues relating to the Anthropocene, unless they are granted adequate resources and support by key domestic actors.     

Rural Governance, Forestry, and the Promotion of Local Knowledge: The Case of the German Rural Development Program ‘Active Regions’

This article investigates the role of local knowledge in the policy approach of neo-endogenous rural development, which may be held by local and regional actors such as municipal and county level politicians, local and regional level administration, entrepreneurs as well as local third sector representatives. The main question addressed is whether local knowledge under this approach is merely mobilised or if rural development processes are even based on such knowledge, placing it at the centre of such policy. The relevance of this approach to forestry is also explored. The types of forest owners for which the neo-endogenous rural development approach is appropriate and the types that may have difficulties in coping with this cross-sectoral and area-based approach are especially examined. Using a case study design on the German Active Regions funding program it is shown that the neo-endogenous approach is most relevant to large private forest owners and small-scale corporate enterprises, but also has potential for small- and medium-sized private owners. Concerning the role of knowledge held by local and regional actors, the approach is shown to largely build on the use of local expertise, and hence policy acceptance increases. However, scientific knowledge as well as politics are found to play a major role in the use, production and interpretation of local knowledge.     

Consequences of the Swedish forest policy

This article demonstrates that the opportunity cost (return forgone) of cutting principles imposed by the Swedish forest policy is economically significant. The Swedish Forestry Act of 1979 recommends a management strategy for sustaining high yields of valuable timber referred to here as the Balance Strategy. However, the Forestry Act allows for a range of different forest management strategies. The Act establishes both a minimum cutting volume for a ten‐year‐period and a maximum final cut area referred to here as the Minimum and Maximum Strategies, respectively. These strategies were compared to a management plan, referred to as the Economic Strategy, for minimizing the opportunity cost for the forest owner. Based on data from a recent forest management plan, a simulation model was used to predict yields and economic returns for a period of one hundred years. The results show that at a 4% interest rate the Economic Strategy produces a gain of approximately 8200 SEK ha^‐1. The Economic Strategy, however, emphasizes volume and its implementation results in a forest far different from that developed under the Balance Strategy, in which quality timber is also produced. The Economic Strategy may also have less favourable effects on biodiversity, conservation of the natural environment and the recreational value of the forest.     

How does forest certification contribute to boreal biodiversity conservation? Standards and outcomes in Sweden and NW Russia

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is one of the leading forest certification schemes. While many studies concern political aspects and social outcomes of FSC, little is known about the contribution of certification to biodiversity conservation. In Europe, the Russian Federation and Sweden have the largest areas of FSC-certified forest. We assessed the potential of FSC certification for boreal biodiversity conservation in terms of standard content, and outcomes as habitat area set aside and habitat network functionality. First, we compared the biodiversity conservation indicators at different spatial scales in Swedish and Russian FSC standards. Second, focusing on one large state forest management unit in each country, we compared the areas of formally and voluntarily set aside forests for biodiversity conservation. Third, we evaluated the structural habitat connectivity by applying morphological spatial pattern analysis, and potential functional connectivity by using habitat suitability index modelling for virtual species. The Russian standard included indicators for all spatial scales of biodiversity conservation, from tree and stand to landscape and ecoregions. The Swedish standard focused mainly on stand and tree scales. The area of voluntary set-asides for FSC was similar in Sweden and Russia, while formal protection in the Russian case study was three times higher than in the Swedish one. Swedish set-aside core areas were two orders of magnitude smaller, had much lower structural and potential functional connectivity and were located in a fragmented forestland holding. We conclude that to understand the potential of FSC certification for biodiversity conservation both the standard content, and its implementation on the ground, need to be assessed. We discuss the potential of FSC certification for biodiversity conservation with different levels of ambition. We stress the need for developing rapid assessment tools to evaluate outcomes of FSC for biodiversity conservation on the ground, which could be used by forest managers and FSC-auditors toward adaptive governance and management.     

Forest carbon mitigation policy: A policy gap analysis for British Columbia

Land-based emissions are an important contributor to global climate change. Various jurisdictions worldwide have implemented forest carbon mitigation strategies and policies to reduce their GHG emissions or increase carbon sequestration. Yet the policy literature on forest carbon mitigation is limited, and no attempt has been made so far to systematically document a jurisdiction's existing forest carbon mitigation policies and policy gaps. This paper applies policy gap analysis to policies for GHG and forest management in the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, as a case study focusing on the challenges posed by existing policies and the opportunities for policy innovation to more effectively promote forest carbon mitigation. This policy gap analysis shows that while BC has an ambitious climate action regime for fossil fuel-based emissions, it has few policies explicitly targeting forests or the use of harvested wood products for carbon mitigation. As a result, forest carbon mitigation is an under-exploited opportunity for the province. Throughout history, forest management policies have evolved in response to changing social values, such as protection of fresh water, fish and wildlife, and biodiversity. As this case study of BC illustrates, it is time for jurisdictions to renew their forest policies to more effectively incorporate opportunities for carbon mitigation.     

Re-inventing forestry expertise: Strategies for coping with biodiversity protection in Finland

Tackling biodiversity loss requires new forms of expertise in forestry. Drawing on a case study in Finland, the paper analyses how professional foresters are invited to protect the heterogeneity of forest ecosystems while they simultaneously work to homogenise these habitats for improved productivity. To understand how formerly irrelevant biological knowledge, and related skills and expertise gain credibility in forestry decision-making in such a complex policy context, the paper adopts a two-fold theoretical approach. On one hand, it focuses on the tools and techniques which redirect expert practice, introducing new rationalities, roles and routines for professional foresters. On the other hand, it seeks to view foresters as complex sociological actors who reinvent themselves as biodiversity experts by strategically mobilising various kinds of resources to negotiate their role and status as experts. This two-fold analysis addresses how the status of biological knowledge is determined by the tension between formally configured expert rationalities and expert identities and roles mobilised through informal interactions. Three expert strategies in engaging with biodiversity are identified based on the personal histories, motivations and identities of the foresters: the ambassador, navigator and bolshie. Through these strategies professional foresters interact with each other and with landowners while implementing biodiversity policies, hence influencing the policy outcomes.     

Sustainability and Biodiversity

Abstract

The implementation of the Rio protocol and the preservation of biodiversity at the national and regional levels is an important step in achieving sustainable forestry. This is indeed a challenging task since our knowledge of the ecology and habitat demands for but a few species is severely restricted. Research in the last years shows that forest species have very different qualitative and spatial demands on their environment, which require complex and broad solutions. This poses a great problem for conservation and often forces societies/decision-makers to make decisions based on assumptions rather than on empirical data. With assumptions follow uncertainty, a factor that is necessary to control. We identify and discuss the uncertainties of steps that are considered to be important for preserving biodiversity on a regional level and exemplify this with cases from southern Sweden. We argue that there is no universal solution for the conservation of biodiversity. In strongly fragmented and transformed regions like southern Sweden, a mix of species approaches and ecosystem approaches is necessary for biodiversity conservation. Programs for preserving biodiversity should be flexible, not rigid, allowing for modifications due to a constantly increasing body of knowledge and environmental changes. Prominent gaps in our knowledge include species dispersal ability and propensity, extinction rates and the species dependence on fragmentation and landscape history. It is possible that the question of responsibility species (a species for which a region has an explicit conservational responsibility) may gain in importance, an issue with far-reaching implications for economy and inter-regional compensatory systems.