Integrating ecosystem services in power analysis in forest governance: A comparison across nine European countries

Nataly Juerges, Bas Arts, Mauro Masiero, Emin Z. Başkent, José G. Borges, Yvonne Brodrechtova, Vilis Brukas, Maria João Canadas, Pedro Ochôa Carvalho, Giulia Corradini, Edwin Corrigan, Adam Felton, Marjanke Hoogstra-Klein, Max Krott, Jim van Laar, Isak Lodin, Anders Lundholm, Ekaterina Makrickienė, Marlene Marques, Américo Mendes, Gintautas Mozgeris, Ana Novais, Davide Pettenella and Nerijus Pivoriūnas

Forest Policy and Economics, 2020, vol. 121, issue C

Abstract: Within forest governance research, the transfer of power from governmental actors to civil society and market actors has been subject to intense scientific debate. We move forward on this debate by analyzing how ongoing transformations and power shifts in forest governance affect the power relations of actors with interest in various ecosystem services (ESs) in nine countries (Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Turkey). In order to examine power resources of actors, we triangulated 220 qualitative interviews, document analysis, and participatory observations. Governmental actors (with various interests in ESs) were the most powerful actors in most countries, and thus drove forest management. Our analysis shows that the power relations of actors with interest in different forest ESs, varied within the nine countries, though many similarities existed. Governmental, market, and civil society actors differed in their capacity to apply the power strategies “coercion”, “(dis)incentives”, and “dominant information”, to realize their interests in ESs. In Lithuania, Slovakia and Turkey, governmental actors relied mostly on coercion; in the Netherlands on incentives; and in Sweden on dominant information. In Germany, Ireland, Italy and Portugal governmental actors relied on a mix of coercion, incentives, and dominant information. Market actors in all countries relied mostly on incentives, and civil society actors on dominant information as their power strategy.

Keywords: Actor-centred power; Ecosystem services trade-off; Europe; Forest governance; Power shift; Governance transformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:forpol:v:121:y:2020:i:c:s1389934118303289

DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102317

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