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Leaders and Laggards? Comparing European and North American Approaches to Non-State Environmental Governance
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19
Factor
Exists?
Effects on FSCefforts to gainsupport
Finnish caseconsistent withhypotheses?
Structure of Forest Sector
Diffuse or non-existent associationalsystems
No
Debilitates
Yes
Discussion
The existence of a highly integrated associational structure fits with the account of Cashore, Auld andNewsom (2004) that such a feature will debilitate efforts for the FSC to pursue converting strategies.This is asserted to occur because forest owners are able to organize and respond effectively andefficiently to the FSC by creating their own alternative, which is exactly what the well developedassociational structure permitted them to do.
The long-standing democratic structure is one that is well-trusted by the Finnish landowners andby Finland’s industries – it guarantees the facility of timber sales, independence and costeffectiveness in the management of small holdings, education and training, and small landownerrepresentation (via their union MTK) in national decision-making. Content with the democraticnature of the established forestry system, forest owners in particular were determined not torelinquish decision-making ability to international environmental interests and with anestablished, cohesive associational system among Finland’s forest owners allowed for a strongeffort and expertise to develop a made in Finland solution. Well-represented by MTK, forestowners were able to influence policy in their favor. We found that MTK resistance to FSC wasbacked by industry and government, making it impossible for Finland’s ENGOs to maintain theFSC dialogue.
C. Public Policy Approach
Hypothesis 6 Factor: Sustained and extensive public dissatisfaction with forestry practices
Two interrelated factors influenced and shaped Finland’s forest policy development in
the early 1990s: growing environmental group dissatisfaction with state and private forestrypractices, and the Finnish government’s attention to an international agenda that led it tocompletely reform its forestry legislation. The first trend can be traced back to the concern aboutbiodiversity and forest preservation, which, following new scientific information that modernforestry practices were endangering forested landscapes and forest species, led WWF Finland toinitiate a national campaign for increased forest preservation (WWF Finland, 2003). WWFFinland joined with other ENGOs to criticize industry and the state for clearcutting inecologically valuable areas. Forestry conflicts, or “forestry wars,” involved intense campaigning,frequent on-site protests, and physical attempts by ENGO supporters to stop logging activities.Police officials were often involved, resulting in significant media coverage (Hellström 2001).While protests and campaigns initially focused on state lands, they moved to include, by 1994,private forests as well, including Kuusamo Forest Common, a forest area owned jointly by a largeproportion of the local population (Hellström 2001).
The second trend, which saw Finland’s embracing international norms and the emerging
international concept of sustainable development, that ultimately provided the justification, andcatalyst, for the Finnish government to re-organize and reform its national forest legislation.International influences began the year following UNCED, Finland hosted the European
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| | Authors: Auld, Graeme. and Cashore, Benjamin. |
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19
Factor
Exists?
Effects on FSC
efforts to gain
support
Finnish case
consistent with
hypotheses?
Structure of Forest Sector
Diffuse or non-existent associational
systems
No
Debilitates
Yes
Discussion
The existence of a highly integrated associational structure fits with the account of Cashore, Auld and
Newsom (2004) that such a feature will debilitate efforts for the FSC to pursue converting strategies.
This is asserted to occur because forest owners are able to organize and respond effectively and
efficiently to the FSC by creating their own alternative, which is exactly what the well developed
associational structure permitted them to do.
The long-standing democratic structure is one that is well-trusted by the Finnish landowners and
by Finland’s industries – it guarantees the facility of timber sales, independence and cost
effectiveness in the management of small holdings, education and training, and small landowner
representation (via their union MTK) in national decision-making. Content with the democratic
nature of the established forestry system, forest owners in particular were determined not to
relinquish decision-making ability to international environmental interests and with an
established, cohesive associational system among Finland’s forest owners allowed for a strong
effort and expertise to develop a made in Finland solution. Well-represented by MTK, forest
owners were able to influence policy in their favor. We found that MTK resistance to FSC was
backed by industry and government, making it impossible for Finland’s ENGOs to maintain the
FSC dialogue.
C. Public Policy Approach
Hypothesis 6 Factor: Sustained and extensive public dissatisfaction with forestry practices
Two interrelated factors influenced and shaped Finland’s forest policy development in
the early 1990s: growing environmental group dissatisfaction with state and private forestry
practices, and the Finnish government’s attention to an international agenda that led it to
completely reform its forestry legislation. The first trend can be traced back to the concern about
biodiversity and forest preservation, which, following new scientific information that modern
forestry practices were endangering forested landscapes and forest species, led WWF Finland to
initiate a national campaign for increased forest preservation (WWF Finland, 2003). WWF
Finland joined with other ENGOs to criticize industry and the state for clearcutting in
ecologically valuable areas. Forestry conflicts, or “forestry wars,” involved intense campaigning,
frequent on-site protests, and physical attempts by ENGO supporters to stop logging activities.
Police officials were often involved, resulting in significant media coverage (Hellström 2001).
While protests and campaigns initially focused on state lands, they moved to include, by 1994,
private forests as well, including Kuusamo Forest Common, a forest area owned jointly by a large
proportion of the local population (Hellström 2001).
The second trend, which saw Finland’s embracing international norms and the emerging
international concept of sustainable development, that ultimately provided the justification, and
catalyst, for the Finnish government to re-organize and reform its national forest legislation.
International influences began the year following UNCED, Finland hosted the European
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