Jessica de Koning

Institutional bricolage in community forestry: an agenda for future research

This chapter outlines the concept of institutional bricolage as a tool for understanding how community forest arrangements actually work. We characterise two contrasting schools of institutional thinking and show how bricolage belongs to a ‘critical institutionalist’ rather than a ‘mainstream institutionalist’ perspective. The key elements of bricolage are outlined to elaborate the concept. These are further explored through an examination of the different practices adopted by local actors in shaping institutional arrangements. Illustrations are drawn from studies of community forestry in Bolivia and Ecuador and areas for further work are identified.

Forest and Nature Governance

Problems such as deforestation, biodiversity loss and illegal logging have provoked various policy responses that are often referred to as forest and nature governance. In its broadest interpretation, governance is about the many ways in which public and private actors from the state, market and/or civil society govern public issues at multiple scales. Examples range from the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity to national forest programmes. In studies of forest and nature governance the dominant approaches are rational choice and neo-institutionalism. This book takes another perspective. Departing from ‘practice theory’, and building upon scholars like Giddens, Bourdieu, Reckwitz, Schatzki and Callon, it seeks to move beyond established understandings of institutions, actors, and knowledge. In so doing, the book not only presents an innovative conceptual and methodological framework for a practice based approach, but also rich case studies and ethnographies. Examples are participatory forest management in the tropics, REDD policy at global level, European water policy, forest certification and the construction of global biodiversity databases. Taking social practices as the key unit of analysis, this book describes how different practitioners, ranging from local forest managers on the ground to policy makers at the global level, work with trees, forests, biodiversity, wildlife, and so on, and act upon forest policies, environmental discourses, codes of conduct, or scientific insights. It is also about how communities, NGOs, stakeholders, and citizens get involved in forest and nature governance.

Managing climate change in conservation practice: an exploration of the science-management interface in beech forest management.

Scientific studies reveal significant consequences of climate change for nature, from ecosystems to individual species. Such studies are important factors in policy decisions on forest conservation and management in Europe. However, while research has shown that climate change research start to impact on European conservation policies like Natura 2000, climate change information has yet to translate into management practices. This article contributes to the on-going debates about science–society relations and knowledge utilization by exploring and analysing the interface between scientific knowledge and forest management practice. We focus specifically on climate change debates in conservation policy and on how managers of forest areas in Europe perceive and use climate change ecology. Our findings show that forest managers do not necessarily deny the potential importance of climate change for their management practices, at least in the future, but have reservations about the current usefulness of available knowledge for their own areas and circumstances. This suggests that the science–management interface is not as politicized as current policy debates about climate change and that the use of climate change ecology is situated in practice. We conclude the article by discussing what forms of knowledge may enable responsible and future oriented management in practice focusing specifically on the role of reflexive experimentation and monitoring.

Climate-smart land use requires local solutions, transdisciplinary research, policy coherence and transparency

ABSTRACT Successfully meeting the mitigation and adaptation targets of the Paris Climate Agreement (PA) will depend on strengthening the ties between forests and agriculture. Climate-smart land use can be achieved by integrating climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and REDD+. The focus on agriculture for food security within a changing climate, and on forests for climate change mitigation and adaptation, can be achieved simultaneously with a transformational change in the land-use sector. Striving for both independently will lead to competition for land, inefficiencies in monitoring and conflicting agendas. Practical solutions exist for specific contexts that can lead to increased agricultural output and forest protection. Landscape-level emissions accounting can be used to identify these practices. Transdisciplinary research agendas can identify and prioritize solutions and targets for integrated mitigation and adaptation interventions. Policy coherence must be achieved at a number of levels, from international to local, to avoid conflicting incentives. Transparency must lastly be integrated, through collaborative design of projects, and open data and methods. Climate-smart land use requires all these elements, and will increase the likelihood of successful REDD+ and CSA interventions. This will support the PA as well as other initiatives as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Discourses on sustainable forest management and effects of Natura 2000: a case study of Catalonia, NE Spain

This study analyzed discourses influencing the meaning of Sustainable Forest Management in Catalonia (Spain) and the effects of the European Natura 2000 policy on these discourses. It focused on the Montseny area and on the Administration and Practitioner stakeholder groups. Based on literature review and interviews, we found six discourses influencing the meanings of Sustainable Forest Management. Two of these discourses underwent changes due to the effects of Natura 2000 implementation while the others did not, showing the substantial role played by local elements and actors in shaping the discursive framework of Sustainable Forest Management. Based on empirical findings, the study provided conclusions valid at European level: (1) implementing Natura 2000 does not mean revolutionizing local nature conservation systems, but rather adapting them to European requirements; (2) in order to increase local policy impact, the implementation of European environmental policies needs to be backed up by economic compensation of local actors.

Natura 2000 et les forêts de l’Europe : comprendre et relever les défis de la mise en oeuvre

The BiodivERsA-funded BeFoFu project has investigated both ecological challenges related to management of protected forests and governance challenges related to the implementation of Natura 2000. This Policy Brief describes these socio-ecological challenges, presents key research results, and outlines policy solution pathways towards improving the effectiveness of Natura 2000 with regards to the conservation and sustainable management of Europe’s forests.