Discussion forums

IUFRO; IDLO; CIFOR

Landscapes are transformed over time under varying degrees of influence of fragmented, interlinked and overlapping governance and legal frameworks. In this context, multi-level governance of landscapes increasingly involves complex interactions of state, private sector and civil society actors at various levels, and institutions linking higher levels of social and political organization. Driven through globalized trade and investments, local communities are increasingly connected to global networks and influences. This scenario creates new opportunities to learn and address problems but may also introduce new pressures and risks. In order to facilitate long-term, stable and efficient governance frameworks for a sustainable landscape approach, coordination and integration of existing and upcoming policies and legal frameworks is crucial.  The Discussion Forum will explore who governs, how and with what effects by addressing three key questions.

How can governance frameworks help build legal frameworks to promote low carbon investments?

Land degradation and unsustainable land use is driven by many sectors beyond forestry, such as agriculture, energy, mineral resources, human settlements and infrastructure. Developing a better understanding of how laws, institutions and regulatory frameworks affect land use change and investment decisions is crucial for enhancing sustainable landscapes. In light of this need for analysis, the forum will discuss country-specific contexts and the instruments they require as well as case studies illustrating how domestic and foreign investors continue to circumvent legal and regulatory frameworks.

How can sustainability standards support an integrated governance framework?

Sustainable land use involves balancing the management of natural resources with interests such as conservation, development priorities, cultural values as well as the interests of indigenous peoples, human rights and gender considerations. In recent years, diverse regulatory and voluntary standards have been developed, providing incentives for more sustainable land use in various sectors, alongside important new social and environmental safeguards.  While such initiatives may be positively influencing practices within their sectors, coordination and integration is needed without prioritizing one sector policy over others. The forum will explore how sustainability standards along with social and environmental safeguards have been integrated and implemented in regulations as well as voluntary standards and their impact on land use change.

How can policy learning improve multi-level governance of landscapes?

The design and implementation of effective governance arrangements needs to recognize and address complex cross-scale dynamics in space and over time. One promising way to improve coordination of different land use policies is through policy learning. Multiple arenas within the multi-level governance framework have the ability to learn about the effectiveness of specific policy instruments and settings focusing on a specific problem. Coordination can support the diffusion of learning experiences across different arenas primarily based on informative instruments but complemented by incentives and by new mechanisms for collaboration among institutions. The forum will discuss the need for a more complex approach to the varieties of multi-level governance to help us better understand how policies work as instruments of governance and to organize communities within systems of power and authority.

Key questions the Forum will address

1. How can governance frameworks help build legal frameworks to promote low carbon investments?
2. How can sustainability standards support an integrated governance framework?
3. How can policy learning improve multi-level governance of landscapes?

Background reading

1. Howlett, M., Rayner, J., Goehler, D., Heidbreder, E. Perron-Welch, F., Rukundo, O., Verkooijen, P. and Wildburger, C. (2010): Overcoming the challenges of integration: embracing complexity in forest policy design through multi-level governance. In: Rayner, J., Buck, A. and Katila, P. (eds.). Embracing complexity: Meeting the challenges of international forest governance. A global assessment report. Prepared by the Global Forest Expert Panel on the International Forest Regime. IUFRO World Series Volume 28. Vienna, 93- 110.
2. Mwangi, E. and Wardell, D.A. (eds), 2012, Multi-level governance of forest resources. International Journal of the Commons Vol.  6, no. 2: 79-103 and Vol. 7, no. 2 (Part 2 –  August 2013)
3. IDLO, 2012. Legal Preparedness for REDD+: Enabling Laws and Institutions for Strengthened Domestic Capacity. IDLO, Rome. August 2012
4. McDermott, C., van Asselt, H.; Streck, C., Assembe Mvondo, S. (2012): Governance for REDD+, forest management and biodiversity: Existing approaches and future options. In Parrotta, J., Wildburger, C. and Mansourian, S. (eds.). Understanding Relationships between Biodiversity, Carbon, Forests and People: The Key to Achieving REDD+ Objectives. A Global Assessment Report. Prepared by the Global Expert Panel on Biodiversity, Forest Management and REDD+. IUFRO World Series Volume 31. Vienna, 115-137.

Contact details: Alexander Buck: buck@iufro.org

Speakers

• Benjamin Cashore

  Professor, Environmental Governance & Political Science; Director of the Governance, Environment, and Markets Initiative at Yale (GEM) and Director, Program on Forest Policy and Governance

• Robert Kibugi

  Lecturer on Environmental Law, University of Nairobi

• Daniela Kleinschmitt

  Professor, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Products, Head of Forest Policy Unit

Moderator

• Niels Elers Koch

  President of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), Director General of Forest and Landscape Denmark, University of Copenhagen

Rapporteur

• Caroline Haywood

  IDLO