International Forest Policy by International and Transnational Organizations

International forest policy is mainly shaped by the participation of countries at global level, which is why forest-related organisations in Europe and their political processes have received little attention up to now. Meanwhile, however, global forest policy is being increasingly influenced by regional processes. Efforts are underway in the context of various European processes to put sustainable forest management on a firmer footing and make it better known outside the sector. Hence the safeguarding of national interests in the European context is becoming more important for Switzerland. This contribution presents the main forest policy organisations in Europe from Switzerland's perspective, i.e. Forest Europe, the FAO European Forestry Commission, the UNECE Timber Committee, the European Union and the European Forest Institute, so as to provide a better understanding of where European forest policy originates.

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Redefining the Issues: NGO Influence on International Forest Negotiations

Global Environmental Politics ◽

10.1162/152638004323074192 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 51-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

David Humphreys

Keyword(s):

Nongovernmental Organizations ◽

United Nations ◽

International Politics ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Time Frame ◽

Short Term ◽

Early Stages ◽

The United Nations ◽

International Forest Policy ◽

Environmental Challenge

How successful have nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) been in influencing international forest policy? Specifically, how effective have they been at altering the texts of international forest policy declarations and agreements? This paper studies NGO efforts to influence international forest policy from the mid-1980s, when deforestation first emerged as an international environmental challenge, to 2001 when the United Nations Forum on Forests was created. This paper demonstrates that, in the short term, NGOs are more effective when they: 1. involve themselves in the early stages of negotiations, 2. suggest substantive and procedural ideas that are already well-known in fora outside forest politics, and 3. align their suggestions with the prevailing neoliberal discourse of international politics. The paper suggests that such conditions can be rather limited and thus speculates about NGO efforts within a longer time frame.

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Researching conferences as spaces of valuation: a pragmatic approach

10.31235/osf.io/8sxtp ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Susanne Koch

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Exchange ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Illustrative Case ◽

Pragmatic Approach ◽

Research Fields ◽

Field Notes ◽

Epistemic Cultures ◽

Good Research ◽

International Forest Policy

Scientific conferences are not only sites of knowledge exchange and networking. They are also spaces of valuation that are constitutive of epistemic cultures. At conferences, scholars (re-) negotiate what counts as good research, what kind of scholarship is considered valuable and which epistemic properties matter for their field. This negotiation sometimes happens explicitly, but more often through evaluative acts: statements of reasoning and justification, questions and remarks, and evaluative emotional utterances that include literal and figurative expressions of appreciation, scepticism, rejection, etc. Combining conference ethnography with a pragmatic approach borrowing insights from linguistics offers a way to identify and interpret such evaluative acts in conference talk. An analysis of data from the 3rd International Forest Policy Meeting (IFPM3), a virtual event with participants from across the globe, serves as illustrative case. Text materials generated through observing participation (field notes, transcripts, chat comments and abstracts) show how forest policy researchers ascribe worth to studies characterised by methodical rigour and praxis orientation, and guided by an objectivistic ideal of science. However, the latter was also challenged by panelists who enthusiatically appraised reflexive research that acknowledged the role of emotions in knowledge production.The IFPM3 case shows that conferences offer a unique space for observing academic valuation practice. Exploring how scholars enact values through conference discourse will not only help to better understand the specificities of particular research fields and their epistemic cultures. It can also more generally enhance the understanding of how social and epistemic levels in science intersect.

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Influences of international forest policy processes on national forest policies in Finland, Norway and Sweden

Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1080/02827581.2011.635079 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 210-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Berit H. Lindstad ◽

Birger Solberg

Keyword(s):

Forest Policy ◽

National Forest ◽

Forest Policies ◽

International Forest Policy

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Nationale Forstprogramme: Internationaler Kontext, erste europäische Erfahrungen und Lehren für die Schweiz | National forest programmes: Context and first experiences in Europe and lessons for Switzerland

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2002.0419 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 153 (11) ◽

pp. 419-429 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kurt Bisang ◽

Willi Zimmermann

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Forest Policy ◽

National Forest ◽

Policy Debate ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

International Policy ◽

Forest Policies ◽

Policy Level ◽

International Forest Policy

Since UNCED 1992, national forest programmes(NFP) have served as a strategy to formulate and implement forest policies aiming at sustainable forest management. At the international policy level, the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests and the United Nations Forum on Forests have issued a set of proposals for action. A number of countries have started to plan and implement national forest programmes. However, precisely what NFPs are, and what their impact might be, is not entirely clear. This article gives an overview of the international forest policy debate and discusses first experiences made with NFPs in European countries. Against this background the article reflects on the lessons learnt and discusses the prospects for an NFP in Switzerland.

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