Lukas Giessen

Decentralisation policy as recentralisation strategy: forest management units and community forestry in Indonesia

SUMMARY Critical political analyses on decentralisation policies have revealed that such approaches may not achieve their formal goal, and might even support centralisation efforts. A number of previous studies on decentralisation separated the analyses of administrative process from the analyses of political power of administrative actors across levels of government. Using bureaucratic politics theory, this article presents close examinations of both process and power relations reconfigured by decentralising and recentralising forces across governmental levels. This study illustrates how the Indonesian central government is on its way to reclaiming its authority for forest administration and management through so-called Forest Management Units (FMU) and closely related community forestry programmes. This study reveals that the sources of real contention in KPH and community forestry policies are the power struggles between national, provincial and district bureaucracies. The conceptual model and the results of this study contribute to the understanding of underlying dynamics of bureaucratic politics in the process of political power reconfigurations.

Dismantling Comprehensive Forest Bureaucracies: Direct Access, the World Bank, Agricultural Interests, and Neoliberal Administrative Reform of Forest Policy in Argentina

ABSTRACT By the end of the 1980s, Argentina was in the middle of a severe economic crisis. In 1991, the Deregulation Decree, which steered the political economy toward a new neoliberal policy, dismantled the Argentine National Forestry Institute (IFONA), an autonomous bureaucracy responsible for forests. The aim of this study is to analyze the influence the World Bank exerted on domestic forest policymaking and bureaucratic reform in Argentina. We selected the interventions of the World Bank in the Argentinian forest and agricultural policy that started in the early 1990s and still continues today. We use a qualitative case-study design building on content analysis of policy documents. The World Bank interventions through funding figured prominently, in the form of new forest laws that, as a whole, benefited plantation forests and regulated soy production expansion. This policy was found to be supported by a coalition of the World Bank, agricultural interests, and private landowners.

From governance to government: The strengthened role of state bureaucracies in forest and agricultural certification

Abstract Private institutions for third-party (eco-)labelling of food and wood products has been a lively field of empirical research, peaking in the conception of certification as a “non-state market-driven governance system,” which is gaining rule-making authority domestically and internationally as a private governance institution and a transnational regime. Recent findings, however, suggest that state actors also play a decisive role in private certification governance. Questions relating to who within the state, however, so far remain unaddressed. Very recent empirical trends in the fields of timber and palm oil certification in Indonesia suggest that it is distinct public bureaucracies who start reclaiming certification authority through state-led mandatory schemes, challenging the private and transnational certification institutions in support of government-driven international certification regimes. Against this background, the objective of this paper is to substantiate the trend from transnational private to international state-driven governance by analyzing the role of distinct state bureaucracies in the emergence, diffusion, and reshaping of private natural resource governance systems. To achieve these objectives, we develop our propositions by combining insights from political certification studies, regime theory, as well as bureaucratic politics theory. Methodologically, we employ a qualitative case study design on recent developments in forest, timber, and palm oil certification systems in Argentina and Indonesia. Our results substantiate the observation that distinct state actors play a key role in private governance systems and, in the case of Indonesia, even re-claim labelling authority from private institutions by attempting to outcompete them through employing their exclusive regulatory power. The results further indicate a strong, self-interested support from domestic state bureaucracies to state-driven international rather than to transnational certification regimes, supporting the temporary governance hypothesis. We discuss and conclude on our results in light of literatures on private governance, policy sectors as well as international relations theory on the emergence of international and transnational regimes.

Regional Governance für ländliche Räume – innovativer Ansatz, politischer Gegenwind und der Weg vorwärts

ZusammenfassungDieser Beitrag identifiziert die inhaltlichen und politischen Innovationen von Regional Governance am Beispiel der integrierten ländlichen Entwicklung. Die politischen Probleme des Ansatzes werden anhand einer Reihe von Fallstudien analysiert. Hier treten die Konkurrenz von Regional Governance zum regionalen „Government“, starke sektorale Interessen und Institutionen sowie der Mehrebenencharakter von Politik für ländliche Räume als Hindernisse in den Vordergrund. Der Beitrag schließt mit einer ausführlichen und realistischen Diskussion der Handlungsoptionen zur Stärkung der integrierten ländlichen Entwicklung.AbstractThis article identifies the programmatic as well as political innovations of Regional Governance in the context of integrated rural development. Based on a number of case studies it is argued that these innovations do not automatically materialise in political reality. Regional Governance was shown to compete with regional government. In addition, strong sectoral interests and institutions and the multi-level character of rural policy are identified as main obstacles to the approach. The paper closes with a realistic discussion of options for strengthening the integrated approach politically through ambitious rural policy integration.

Identifying the main actors and their positions on international forest policy issues in Argentina

Resumen en: Since the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, forest management and conservation have become important issues in international forest- related politics and poli...

Rural governance, forestry, and the promotion of local knowledge: the case of the German rural development program 'Active Regions'.

This article investigates the role of local knowledge in the policy approach of neo-endogenous rural development, which may be held by local and regional actors such as municipal and county level politicians, local and regional level administration, entrepreneurs as well as local third sector representatives. The main question addressed is whether local knowledge under this approach is merely mobilised or if rural development processes are even based on such knowledge, placing it at the centre of such policy. The relevance of this approach to forestry is also explored. The types of forest owners for which the neo-endogenous rural development approach is appropriate and the types that may have difficulties in coping with this cross-sectoral and area-based approach are especially examined. Using a case study design on the German Active Regions funding program it is shown that the neo-endogenous approach is most relevant to large private forest owners and small-scale corporate enterprises, but also has potential for small- and medium-sized private owners. Concerning the role of knowledge held by local and regional actors, the approach is shown to largely build on the use of local expertise, and hence policy acceptance increases. However, scientific knowledge as well as politics are found to play a major role in the use, production and interpretation of local knowledge.

The power of public bureaucracies: forest-related climate change policies in Bangladesh (1992–2014)

As a cross-cutting issue, climate policy depends on the ability of national-level public bureaucracies to formulate and implement effective measures. However, these sectoral agencies strongly compete for resources, political responsibility and power. In the process of allocating specific climate-related policy tasks and resources, changes in the distribution of power among these competing agencies can occur. This process results in the overall architecture of power distribution among climate-related bureaucracies. Arguably, this very architecture – as the aggregation of numerous climate-related policies – plays a decisive role in the direction of climate policy. Using concepts derived from power theory and theories of bureaucratic politics, this study analyses the power added to climate-relevant bureaucracies as a result of policy tasks being allocated to them through myriad international and domestic climate policies and initiatives. Data on national and international forest-related climate change policies (n = 153) in Bangladesh (1992–2014) are used to qualitatively analyse policy tasks assigned to bureaucracies and the power dynamics that arise as a result. The results suggest that core government bureaucracies from outside the climate change realm (e.g. the ministries of planning and finance) are gaining significant power from climate initiatives. Recently, foreign donors have also gained power, mainly through incentives from their climate-related development projects. In light of the existing literature, this article discusses and draws conclusions about the prevailing power elements and policy mixes, the effects of internationalization on domestic climate policy and the way the changing power architecture sets the direction and practical policy limits for climate change policy in Bangladesh. Policy relevance This article contributes to the understanding of power dynamics among national-level and donor administrations and the implications for international forest-related climate change politics. It reveals the prevailing policy structures of a specific country then, based on that country’s policy makers, recommends an appropriate action plan and suggests which kinds of policy interventions (financial, informational, etc.) might be necessary to successfully implement policies at national and international levels.

Steuerungspotenziale der Agrar- und Raumordnungspolitik für ökologisch und ökonomisch nachhaltige ländliche Regionen

ZusammenfassungAgrar- und Raumordnungspolitik beanspruchen in ihren Zielformulierungen zur nachhaltigen Landnutzung in ländlichen Regionen beizutragen. Beide Politiken versprechen auf der Zielebene eine mehrdimensionale nachhaltige Entwicklung für Regionen, die sowohl die Ökologie als auch die Ökonomie voranbringt und darüber hinaus Regionen Anschluss an wirtschaftliche Globalisierungsprozesse verschafft und interne Stoffflüsse stärkt. Zur Überprüfung dieses Anspruchs werden die Ziele und Instrumente der beiden Politiken separat hinsichtlich ihres Steuerungspotentials für nachhaltige Landnutzung, operationalisiert anhand der vier Nachhaltigkeitsdimensionen Ökologieorientierung, Ökonomieorientierung, regionale und globale Orientierung, analysiert. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass für die anspruchsvollen Ziele nur wenige starke Instrumente zur Verfügung stehen und diese auf Ökonomie und Anschluss an wirtschaftliche Globalisierungsprozesse fokussieren. Ökologieorientierung und die Stärkung regionsinterner Stoffflüsse werden entgegen der Zielformulierungen nicht durch ein zielentsprechendes Instrumentarium gestützt.AbstractEuropean and german spatial planning policy and agricultural policy contain the policy objective to promote sustainable land use in rural areas. Both policies promise to promote comprehensive developments in rural areas, aiming at ecological target states, economic development, adaptation to economic globalization processes and strengthening regional stock flows to conserve resources. Analyzing these policies by testing their policy objectives and instruments in regard to sustainable land use delivers that only less instruments can support these objectives. Most instruments focus on economic development and adaptation to economic globalization processes. Ecological target states and strengthening regional stock flows are not supported by sufficient instruments.

Comparing management schemes for forest certification and timber-legality verification: Complementary or competitive in indonesia?

ABSTRACT Indonesian small-scale forest holders are facing a dilemma due to the implementation of a mandatory national timber-legality verification scheme and an internationally popular forest certification scheme. The problems arise from limited financial, technical, and administrative information concerning the most preferred scheme and the “imperfection of such a scheme” for long-term business needs. Using the Forest Certification Assessment Guide (FCAG) this paper identifies the characteristics of four third-party forest certification schemes currently working in Indonesia, namely FSC, PEFC, LEI, and SVLK. An online questionnaire was used to survey a wide range of respondents about the future development of contested schemes and those preferred by small-scale forest holders. Our findings show that although FSC scheme obtained the highest score and is considered the best scheme according to the FCAG, small-scale forest holders prefer SVLK scheme, which had the lowest FCAG score because of its mandatory nature and available subsidies. Statements by the four schemes’ proponents, which delegitimize other schemes, reveal they are in competition especially in winning market acceptance and local adaptability. Finally, we suggest proponents enhance aspects where their schemes are lacking and contrive a comparable certification scheme in order to induce willingness to be certified.

Correction to: The rational design of regional regimes: contrasting Amazonian, Central African and Pan-European Forest Governance

Mistakenly, a prior, premature version of this article was published online, which did not reflect revisions made based on a last round of external peer review. The original article has been corrected.