FOREST POLICY ANALYSIS

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3 FOREST POLICY ANALYSIS

4 FOREST POLICY ANALYSIS by MAX KROTT Institute for Forest Policy and Nature Conservation, Göttingen, Germany Translated by Renée von Paschen EUROPEAN FOREST INSTITUTE

5 A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN (HB) ISBN (HB) ISBN (e-book) ISBN (e-book) Published by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Cover picture by Achim Dohrenbusch, Göttingen, Germany Printed on acid-free paper Title of the original German edition: Krott, Politikfeldanalyse Forstwirtschaft, 1 st edition 2001 by Parey Buchverlag im Blackwell Wissenschafts-Verlag GmbH, Berlin All Rights Reserved 2005 Springer No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed in the Netherlands.

6 FOREWORD Although forest policy is an established course in most European university forestry curricula, apart from a special predilection of the teacher, its content varies from country to country according to the position of the forest sector in the domestic economy and society. In some countries, forestry is the backbone of a strong wood-processing industry, in others, recreational uses and amenity values of forests dominate. Despite these differences, all countries have in common the fact that the diversity of interests in forests has increased. Although timber production will not lose its importance in the future, as timber is a renewable resource, the demand for non-wood products and services has increased considerably. This is best reflected by the new notion of sustainable forest management which strives at the reconciliation of economic, ecological, social, cultural and spiritual interests in forests. In addition, the diversity of stakeholders has increased. Forestry is no longer solely the topic of forest associations and forest administration, but also of a multitude of governmental and non-governmental organisations dealing with activities which either affect forest management or are affected by it. Finally, the relationships of the various stakeholders, with diverse interests and varying empowerment, have become more complex, because in some issues the relationships are compatible, and in others, not. Bargaining on forest issues no longer takes place on a national level alone, but also on European and international levels, because many forest policy issues are transboundary. The increased diversity, variety and complexity of forest issues has rendered forest policy an independent field of political science, namely forest policy studies. With this book entitled "Forest Policy Analysis" Max Krott, Professor of Forest Policy at the Georg-August University in Göttingen, provides an introduction to this special field of political science, based on his German textbook on forest policy published in He applies policy analysis to the regulation of forest policy issues in Germany and the rest of Europe. Forest policy analysis divides the forest policy process into the phases of policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. At the outset of the political process there are conflicts of diverse interests in forests which should be regulated by means of the appropriate programmes. Participants in the political process are the various forest users, interest associations and 1 Krott, Max (2001): Politikfeldanalyse Forstwirtschaft: Eine Einführung für Studium und Praxis. Parey Buchverlag im Blackwell Wissenschafts-Verlag, Berlin.

7 vi FOREWORD political parties, as well as government and public administration. They are interlinked by way of communication and exchange of their resources, and they attempt to enforce their interests by means of information, persuasion and power. For this purpose, informational instruments (e.g., advisory services, public relations), economic instruments (e.g., subsidies, certification), and regulatory instruments (e.g., laws, EU directives) are available. Policy analysis represents an appropriate reference framework for employing the theory of political science and other social sciences to explain political phenomena in the forest sector. The author intends to make the reader familiar with this approach, as well as with its potential results. The student will receive an introduction to forest policy analysis, and the forester involved in policy-making will receive orientation for his own work. The European Forest Institute (EFI) has been supporting forest policy research and studies since its foundation in Policy analysis is one of the four programme research areas aiming in particular at forest policy issues of European significance. Furthermore, the EFI has been the sponsor of the European journal Forest Policy & Economics of which Max Krott is the editor-in-chief. And now the EFI is presenting a series of books on forest policy studies in order to disseminate the scholarly findings in this area among potential users. With the present first volume, Max Krott continues his outstanding contributions to forest policy studies. The editors acknowledge his engagement in this field and wish him the due acceptance and dissemination of this publication. The present book constitutes an important foundation on which forest policy research can be further developed. Peter Glueck, Vienna Birger Solberg, Aas Ilpo Tikkanen, Joensuu Editors of the series Forest Policy & Economics August 2004

8 CONTENTS Page FOREWORD CONTENTS TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS v vii xii CHAPTER 1 PROFESSIONALIZATION OF FOREST SECTOR POLICY MAKING 1 CHAPTER 2 INTERESTS AND CONFLICTS IN THE FOREST SECTOR 2.1 Interests as the Driving Force of Politics Forest Policy for Regulating Conflicts of Interest Conflict Resolution Based on Information and Power Further Forest Policy Research 17 7 CHAPTER 3 PROGRAMS FOR FOREST PROTECTION AND UTILIZATION 3.1 Scope of a Statement Quality of Information Strategies of Power Factual and Evaluative Statements about Forests and 31 Forestry Strategies for Enforcing Value-Judgements Further Forest Policy Research 36 23

9 viii CONTENTS CHAPTER 4 FOREST USERS: OWNERS, WORKERS & EMPLOYEES, AND THE GENERAL POPULATION 4.1 Forest Owners The Interests of Forest Owners Objective Setting and the Political Tasks of ownership The Realization of Owners' Interests Forest Workers and Employees The General Population Further Forest Policy Research CHAPTER 5 ASSOCIATIONS AND POLITICAL 69 PARTIES 5.1 Forestry Associations The Interests of Forestry Associations Organization of Interests The Internal Structure of Associations Action Taken by the Associations Potential Influence of Associations Formal Influence Potential Informal Influence Potential Cooperation with the State Nature and Environmental Protection Associations Hunting Associations Political Parties Further Forest Policy Research 115

10 CONTENTS ix CHAPTER 6 GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION The Role of the Sate in Forestry Tasks and Action Potential in the Modern State Politicians and Administration State Forest Administration Administration as an Executive Body Theory of Bureaucracy Theory of Management Informal Plans of Action Work Processing in Forest Administration Public Administration of Nature and Environmental 143 Protection 6.4 Further Forest Policy Research 148 CHAPTER 7 INFORMATIONAL INSTRUMENTS Advisory Services Consulting Concepts and Their Formal Impact Informal Use of Advisory Services Forest Sector Training and Education Public Relations The Public Sphere Public Opinion in the Media Public Relations in Forestry Forest Reports as PR Tools Content and Data in Forest Reports Political Limitation and Impact of Forest Reports Active Information Tools of the General Public Further Forest Policy Research 187

11 x CONTENTS CHAPTER 8 ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS Self-Regulation of the Market Economy Maximized Efficiency of the Forest Sector in the Market Economy Market Failure of Non-Timber Goods and Services Due to External Effects Regulatory Deficits of the Market Economy in Allocation and Environmental Safeguarding State Compensation for Adhering to Guidelines Formal Regulation via Financial Support Deficits in the Problem-Solving Potential of Financial Support Informal Use of State Compensation Support via State Extension Services Mandatory State Taxes State Tax Revenue Taxation as a Private Compulsory Levy Regulatory Taxation Further Forest Policy Research 215 CHAPTER 9 REGULATORY INSTRUMENTS Formal Control through Regulatory Instruments Behavioral Control through Forest Law Control through Supply Management Organizational Control Process Control Formal Implementation of Regulatory Instruments Problem-Solving Deficits of Regulatory Instruments 230

12 CONTENTS xi 9.4 Informal Application of Regulatory Instruments Further Forest Policy Research 244 CHAPTER 10 LAND-USE PLANNING Forest Land-Use Planning on Various Levels Formal Concept of Forest Land-Use Planning Informal Implementation of Land-Use Planning Further Forest Policy Research 263 CHAPTER 11 POLITICAL SYSTEM AND POLITICAL PROCESS Political System The Political Process of Problem-Solving Policy Formulation Implementation Evaluation Theoretical Integration of Institutional Policy Analysis Policy Consulting through Policy Analysis 286 REFERENCES 289 INDEX 319

13 TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS Page Table 1: Selected Forestry Associations in Germany 70 Table 2: Selected Nature and Environmental Protection Associations 101 Table 3: Task Fields in Forest Administration 141 Table 4: Portrayal of the Forest Sector in Forestry and Environmental Journals from in Germany Table 5: News Factors 171 Table 6: Trust in Stakeholders Concerning Forest Data Illustration 1: Components of Forest Policy 17 Illustration 2: Program Objectives, Interests and Those Benefiting from Forest Policy Illustration 3: Model of Forestry Administration 126 Illustration 4: Interests in Extension Services 156 Illustration 5: Process for Determining Common Welfare 229 Illustration 6: Potential Partners of the Forestry Offices 237 Illustration 7: Forest Land-Use Planning in the Regional Planning System in Germany Illustration 8: Policy Making in Forestry 265 Illustration 9: Policy Making in the Political System

14 CHAPTER 1 PROFESSIONALIZATION OF FOREST SECTOR POLICY MAKING The concept of the forest sector as a peaceful green sector, far removed from any problems, constitutes a false image of forestry in Europe today. Pollutants, climate change and the utilization of forestlands are stressing the forest ecosystem. The economic leeway of forestry enterprises is diminishing; small forest owners are giving up their forestry enterprises; state forest offices are closing; and some aspects of sustainable forest management, practiced over centuries, are even being criticized nationally or internationally by environmentalists. The forest sector rightly refuses to accept such problems as the inevitable consequence of economic and social developments, and is demanding political solutions toend the crisis. Yet whoever becomes involved in forest policy will experience an endless political process in which numerous conflicts may arise as a result of any one specific problem. In the phase of confrontation, practical arguments and legal claims are made for the purpose of lobbying, rather than on the basis of their content. The solutions found with such great effort are only applicable as long as they have the support of the powerful stakeholders. On the whole, fast-changing political support, vacillating alliances, as well as the varying strength of practical arguments and bases for decision making, render it difficult to predict the results of political resolutions. In comparison to the great effort required, the rate of success always remains very modest. Those involved in the field can become influential forest policymakers on the basis of their persistence and refusal to give up despite the endless labyrinth of politics, rather than on account of a speedy rate of success. However individual policymakers have achieved surprising effects by tipping the scales of power and interests and gaining a new margin for action. A pollution protection bylaw has been passed despite the resistance of the powerful automobile industry lobby; national parks have been created despite the concerns of landowners; forest promotion programs have been initiated; and hunting quotas have been altered in view of making it easier to reduce the overpopulation of wild game. Whether or not a lesson can be learnt for the future from forest policy conflicts, no matter whether they are won or lost, is the central issue and the challenge which faces forest policy 1

15 2 FOREST POLICY ANALYSIS studies. As an empirical field of study, it responds affirmatively. It attempts to identify the success factors of the forest policy process using its own methodology, as well as to document them in theories. Consequently, these scientific findings are to be made available to policymakers to provide them with a better basis for choosing their political strategies. Forest policymakers advised by scholars have the advantage of being able to make use of the scientifically systemized findings compiled by scholars over decades of forest policy making. They can thus avoid the trial and error of their own experimentation in the policy-making process. This introduction to forest policy in Europe is intended to provide the basis for such a professionalization. Professional forest policymakers can be characterized by the fact that they correctly evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as their scope of action in the political environment. To do this, however, they require a wealth of detailed facts, as well as the personal competency for taking action, neither of which can be conveyed by this book. Yet it should succeed in illustrating the basic power processes in forest policy making to the reader. Although the political regulation of forest management always involves power, one of the principles of political practice is to cover up power processes to increase its effectiveness for the purpose of realizing self-interests. Forest policy analysis takes a contrasting approach here. Scholarly analyses do not have any personal stake in the forest and can therefore afford to deal openly with power processes. However, it is precisely this contrast which makes scholarly findings interesting for the forest policymaker and renders them useful for his or her own application. In the political analysis of forest management, the diverse interests in protecting and utilizing forests come into the focus of attention first. If forest users did not have so many different goals, from timber production to recreation and climate or biotope protection, then less conflicts and problems would arise for individuals and society as a whole. Due to the great diversity of their interests, their position in public opinion and their psychological dimension, they influence forest policy, thus becoming a topic of forest policy studies. Policy making counters self-interests with general programs which standardize public goals for the protection and utilization of forests and provide instruments for their implementation. The content of federal or state Forest Acts essentially constitutes a forest policy program. Political analysis examines the content of these programs and their strategies which are intended to influence human behavior. Special emphasis is given to