[IUFRO Div 9] Defining and assessing forest governance

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: Im Auftrag von Lukas Giessen Gesendet: Donnerstag, 19. Februar 2015 11:02 Betreff: Defining and assessing forest governance Dear colleagues, based on a joint effort among researchers from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), especially IUFRO Division 9.05 on Forest Policy and Governance, we are happy to share with you an attempt to defining the concept of forest governance from a research perspective (see atachment). Below you will find the essence with regard to defining forest governance from a research perspective. Best wishes, Lukas Giessen, PhD ------------------ Senior Researcher Chair of Forest and Nature Conservation Policy, University of Göttingen Büsgenweg 3, 37077 Göttingen/Germany Phone: +49 551 39 33413 Web: http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/135009.html Web Working Group: http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/350489.html Forest governance research Research into forest governance issues is a popular and timely endeavour. The high relevance of international forest governance research is further reflected by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) dedicating to this very topic its group 9.05 on Forest Policy and Governance, which includes a special working group 9.05.02 on Forest Governance. Forest governance research can be conceptualized as social science inquiry into forest-related decisions, their implementation and resulting effects within a given institutional setting. In order to arrive at relevant and valid conclusions, social science inquiry, more than their physical sciences counterparts, need to clearly define the terms, concepts and methodological frameworks which they apply. Unfortunately, this is not easily and, hence, not always done in forest governance research, running the risk of rendering the concept of forest governance a buzzword, rather than advancing scientific rigor. Defining forest governance In the abovementioned sense we propose a wide definition of forest governance, which researchers may find useful to build upon and to further develop according to their empirical cases. Accordingly, forest governance comprises a) all formal and informal, public and private regulatory structures, i.e. institutions consisting of rules, norms, principles, decision procedures, concerning forests, their utilisation and their conservation, b) the interactions between public and private actors therein and c) the effects of either on forests. Assessing forest governance Assessing forest governance can be done as a scientific endeavour conducted within the scientific realm, or as a practical enterprise undertaken by actors in the field of forest conservation and utilisation practices. Within the scientific realm, the researchers are guided by methodological frameworks, which they develop intersubjectively in order to advance scientific knowledge about real world phenomena. There are two broad approaches for such scientific analyses: Analytical studies are concerned with the mere reflection of these phenomena and their explanation and strive for developing value-free methodological frameworks. In contrast, normative analyses imply value judgements on desirable conditions within their methodological frameworks and often develop recommendations towards selected ends. In both approaches, the researchers are free to define their concepts and hypotheses on potential causalities following scientific thought and rigour. On the contrary, practice-oriented assessments of forest governance inherently imply value judgements which are closely related to the interests of the authors’ organisations developing the methodological frameworks. Recently, a number of such practice-oriented frameworks for assessing forest governance have been developed (FAO 2014, WRI 2013). In such works, value judgements are an implicit or even explicit part of the methodological framework. WRI (2013), for example, build on the normative concept of good forest governance. This does not mean that such assessments are non-scientific; they often are a combination of scientific and practical aspects which are integrated and through this provide for added value to real world challenges . --------------------------------------------------------