Nordic forest governance shifts towards multi-functionality and non-regulatory approaches

Description

Forests are rising on the global political agenda as key ecosystems for mitigating climate change and halting biodiversity loss. Fenno-Scandian countries are among the largest exporters of forest-based products and their forest management is thus of strategic importance for (inter-)national forest policies. Based on a “most-similar systems” study design and expert-based interviews, we compare the development of forest policy instruments across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden over the last 20 years. Analytically, we place an emphasis on paradigmatic shifts in goals, instruments, and governance modes while considering (un)intended consequences and effectiveness. We find an increasing use of non-regulatory instruments, and a broadening of goals from economic production to climate objectives, as well as biodiversity conservation, and thus a moderate shift toward multi-functionality. There are differences in the timing of introducing economic policies and in the use of participatory processes. We discuss these differences with regard to the policy outcomes and in the light of multi-level forest policies in the European Union. Here, we argue that the design of effective multi-functional forest policies benefits from an early inclusion of a broad range of stakeholders, especially when coupled with processes that allow for a re-negotiation of roles and positions.

Period	2022 Aug 26
Event title	6th European Congress of Conservation Biology: Biodiversity crisis in a changing world
Event type	Conference
Location	Prag, Czech RepublicShow on map