Towards co-ownership in forest management: Analysis of a pioneering case ‘Bosland’ (Flanders, Belgium) through transition lenses

Pieter Vangansbeke, Leen Gorissen, Frank Nevens and Kris Verheyen

Forest Policy and Economics, 2015, vol. 50, issue C, 98-109

Abstract: Forest management in Western-Europe is evolving towards multifunctionality and higher levels of sustainability. Co-owned forest managing models, where different owners collaborate and forest users participate however, are still rather an exception of a rule. Bosland (literally forest-land) in Flanders (Belgium) is a statutory partnership of several public forest owners and stakeholders, managing an area of about 22,000ha of previously fragmented forest relicts. By looking at this case through transition lenses we describe a pioneering case in forest management where a new way of management is adopted more geared towards management for coherence across multiple ecosystem services and across a multitude of stakeholders. By use of a learning history we were able to reconstruct the change trajectory of Bosland. Analysis of this change trajectory through transition lenses aided to identify essential key features in which Bosland differs from ‘management as usual’ approaches:(i)a distinctive paradigm shift towards management for coherence;(ii)a long term vision that informs and guides the short-term action agenda;(iii)a bottom up approach focusing on participation and co-creation.

Keywords: Transition; Forest management; Co-ownership; Participation; Envisioning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:forpol:v:50:y:2015:i:c:p:98-109

DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2014.07.006

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