TY - JOUR

T1 - Two decades of forest-related legislation changes in European countries analysed from a property rights perspective

AU - Nichiforel, Liviu

AU - Deuffic, Philippe

AU - Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark

AU - Weiss, Gerhard

AU - Hujala, Teppo

AU - Keary, Kevin

AU - Lawrence, Anna

AU - Avdibegović, Mersudin

AU - Dobšinská, Zuzana

AU - Feliciano, Diana

AU - Górriz-Mifsud, Elena

AU - Hoogstra-Klein, Marjanke

AU - Hrib, Michal

AU - Jarský, Vilém

AU - Jodłowski, Krzysztof

AU - Lukmine, Diana

AU - Pezdevšek Malovrh, Špela

AU - Nedeljković, Jelena

AU - Nonić, Dragan

AU - Krajter Ostoić, Silvija

AU - Pukall, Klaus

AU - Rondeux, Jacques

AU - Samara, Theano

AU - Sarvašová, Zuzana

AU - Scriban, Ramona Elena

AU - Šilingienė, Rita

AU - Sinko, Milan

AU - Stojanovska, Makedonka

AU - Stojanovski, Vladimir

AU - Stoyanov, Todor

AU - Teder, Meelis

AU - Vennesland, Birger

AU - Wilhelmsson, Erik

AU - Wilkes-Allemann, Jerylee

AU - Živojinović, Ivana

AU - Bouriaud, Laura

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - In the last two decades, attention on forests and ownership rights has increased in different domains of international policy, particularly in relation to achieving the global sustainable development goals. This paper looks at the changes in forest-specific legislation applicable to regular productive forests, across 28 European countries. We compare the legal framework applicable in the mid-1990s with that applicable in 2015, using the Property Rights Index in Forestry (PRIF) to measure changes across time and space. The paper shows that forest owners in most western European countries already had high decision-making power in the mid-1990s, following deregulation trends from the 1980s; and for the next two decades, distribution of rights remained largely stable. For these countries, the content and direction of changes indicate that the main pressure on forest-focused legislation comes from environmental discourses (e.g. biodiversity and climate change policies). In contrast, former socialist countries in the mid-1990s gave lower decision-making powers to forest owners than in any of the Western Europe countries; over the next 20 years these show remarkable changes in management, exclusion and withdrawal rights. As a result of these changes, there is no longer a clear line between western and former socialist countries with respect to the national governance systems used to address private forest ownership. Nevertheless, with the exception of Baltic countries which have moved towards the western forest governance system, most of the former socialist countries still maintain a state-centred approach in private forest management. Overall, most of the changes we identified in the last two decades across Europe were recorded in the categories of management rights and exclusion rights. These changes reflect the general trend in European forest policies to expand and reinforce the landowners’ individual rights, while preserving minimal rights for other categories of forest users; and to promote the use of financial instruments when targeting policy goals related to the environmental discourse.

AB - In the last two decades, attention on forests and ownership rights has increased in different domains of international policy, particularly in relation to achieving the global sustainable development goals. This paper looks at the changes in forest-specific legislation applicable to regular productive forests, across 28 European countries. We compare the legal framework applicable in the mid-1990s with that applicable in 2015, using the Property Rights Index in Forestry (PRIF) to measure changes across time and space. The paper shows that forest owners in most western European countries already had high decision-making power in the mid-1990s, following deregulation trends from the 1980s; and for the next two decades, distribution of rights remained largely stable. For these countries, the content and direction of changes indicate that the main pressure on forest-focused legislation comes from environmental discourses (e.g. biodiversity and climate change policies). In contrast, former socialist countries in the mid-1990s gave lower decision-making powers to forest owners than in any of the Western Europe countries; over the next 20 years these show remarkable changes in management, exclusion and withdrawal rights. As a result of these changes, there is no longer a clear line between western and former socialist countries with respect to the national governance systems used to address private forest ownership. Nevertheless, with the exception of Baltic countries which have moved towards the western forest governance system, most of the former socialist countries still maintain a state-centred approach in private forest management. Overall, most of the changes we identified in the last two decades across Europe were recorded in the categories of management rights and exclusion rights. These changes reflect the general trend in European forest policies to expand and reinforce the landowners’ individual rights, while preserving minimal rights for other categories of forest users; and to promote the use of financial instruments when targeting policy goals related to the environmental discourse.

KW - Forest governance

KW - Institutional changes

KW - PRIF

KW - Private ownership

KW - Property rights

U2 - 10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102146

DO - 10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102146

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85082106153

VL - 115

JO - Forest Policy and Economics

JF - Forest Policy and Economics

SN - 1389-9341

M1 - 102146

ER -