Special Issue "Forest Policy and Management Practices for the 21st Century"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zuzana Dobsinska
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Forest Economics and Management, Forestry Faculty, Technical University in Zvolen, Zvolen, 960 01, Slovakia
Interests: forest policy; policy instruments; governance; participation; policy evaluation; policy implementation; discourse analysis; ecosystem services
Ms. Ivana Zivojinovic
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Forest, Environmental and Natural Resource Policy, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Feistmantelstrasse 4, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Interests: forest policy and governance; innovations in sustainable forest management; social innovations; urban forest policy and governance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Forests in the 21st century are facing new challenges, but also new opportunities, with growing global demand for wood products and recognition of the role of forests in addressing climate change. Society benefits from forest welfare effects and makes corresponding demands on the conservation and management of the forests. The forest product sector also generates considerable benefits in terms of income and job creation. With the change of people’s lifestyle, urban forests are gaining more importance as a means for supporting human wellbeing.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, forest policy and governance has been trying to cope with the emerging challenges for forestry in numerous activities on a national and international level (Krott, 2008). Important forestry issues are still handled by the state in a policy process, formulating binding programs and implementing them by partly binding means, but at the same time, an increasing number of forest policy instruments no longer fit into this concept, because they go beyond the domain of a single state authority (Krott, 2005). In European countries, forest policies have reformulated forest law and initiated wide-ranging reforms of the state forest services (Nichiforel et al., 2018; Nichiforel et al., 2020). Private forest ownership was re-established throughout countries in transition (Živojinovič et al., 2015). In addition, sustainable forest management certification spread in European countries, and National Forest Programs were initiated. On the international level, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development became the subject of global initiatives which were strongly reflected by the MCPFE and the EU.

  1. Forest policy instrument implementation and evaluation;
  2. The role of actors in forest policy (forest owners and their associations, policy-makers, public administration, NGOs, ENGOs, EU, UN, media, etc.);
  3. International forest policy processes;
  4. Urban forestry policy;
  5. Urban forestry management for human wellbeing;
  6. Innovations in forestry focusing on institutional and social aspects/ institutional or social aspects of innovations in forestry;
  7. Novel forest management practices (PES, remote sensing, etc.);
  8. Transforming forest management and policy practices in line with circular bioeconomy. 

Hetemäki, L. (2020). The Green Deal and the EU Forest Sector. doi.10.13140/RG.2.2.18617.52321.

Karsenty, A., Blanco, C., Dufour, T. (2003). Forest and climate change. Instruments related to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and their potential for sustainable forest management in Africa. FAO: Rome

Krott, M. (2008). Forest government and forest governance within a Europe in change. The Multifunctional Role of Forests Policies, Methods and Case Studies13. EFI Proceedings no. 55.

Krott, M. (2005). Forest policy analysis. Springer Science & Business Media. 323 p., ISBN 978-1-4020-3478-7

Nichiforel, L., Deuffic, P., Thorsen, B. J., Weiss, G., Hujala, T., Keary, K., ...  Górriz-Mifsud, E. (2020). Two decades of forest-related legislation changes in European countries analysed from a property rights perspective. Forest Policy and Economics115, 102146. doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102146

Nichiforel, L., Keary, K., Deuffic, P., Weiss, G., Thorsen, B. J., Winkel, G., ... Mifsud, E. G. (2018). How private are Europe’s private forests? A comparative property rights analysis. Land Use Policy76, 535-552. doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.02.034

Živojinović, I., Weiss, G., Lidestav, G., Feliciano, D., Hujala, T., Dobšinská, Z., Lawrence, A., Nybakk, E., Schraml, U. (2015). Forest land ownership change in Europe. COST Action FP1201 FACESMAP Country Reports, Joint Volume. EFICEEC-EFISEE Research Report. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Vienna, Austria693.

Dr. Zuzana Dobsinska
Ms. Ivana Zivojinovic
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • forest policy
  • forest management
  • sustainable forest management
  • policy instruments
  • management practices
  • innovations
  • forest ecosystem services
  • bioeconomy

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
An Institutional Analysis and Reconfiguration Framework for Sustainability Research on Post-Transition Forestry—A Focus on Ukraine
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4360; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084360 - 14 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 710
Abstract
In this paper, we elaborate an Institutional Analysis and Reconfiguration Framework centered around the ‘action arena’ theoretical approach. We develop this framework to analyze institutional reconfiguration to enhance sustainability, and operationalize it using research methods which focus on documentation of the institutional contexts [...] Read more.
In this paper, we elaborate an Institutional Analysis and Reconfiguration Framework centered around the ‘action arena’ theoretical approach. We develop this framework to analyze institutional reconfiguration to enhance sustainability, and operationalize it using research methods which focus on documentation of the institutional contexts through an extensive literature review and interviews of experts in forest policy. We apply the Institutional Analysis and Reconfiguration Framework to examine forestry institutions, address forest governance, and investigate their effect on socio-economic and environmental performances in forestry of Ukraine. The paper draws on the state of affairs in post-transition forestry, its difficulties, and new prospects for economic and institutional reforms. We examine challenges and opportunities in forestry and suggest key remedies and prospective ways forward. Results show that a combination of path dependency with the rigidity of institutions and a slow pace of economic and political reforms is the major obstacle to implementing decisions regarding sustainable forest policy. A reconfiguration of social practices is required, as well as the development of capabilities and awareness raising amongst relevant stakeholders, to realize the problems, envision alternative futures, challenge existing institutions, shift power relations and create new norms, rules, and decision-making arrangements. The way towards sustainability in forestry largely goes through changing institutions, and a human dimension of institutional changes reflected in the uptake of social innovation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Policy and Management Practices for the 21st Century)
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