Challenges in determining national effects of international policy processes: Forest protection in Norway as a case

Abstract

During recent decades, international forest policy processes have made numerous recommendations for sustainable forest management, including forest protection, but questions have been raised concerning the influences of these processes on national forest policies and management. The main objective of this article is to explore challenges in determining the national effects of three international forest policy processes, while building on earlier literature on the effects and effectiveness of international regimes. Our study focuses on one single substantive element (forest protection) in one country (Norway). We explore the challenges in verifying causal connections between national changes and the international recommendations for an element where a good deal of information is available. Quantitative data for protection status as well as qualitative data from an empirical study giving differing opinions on Norway's compliance with international recommendations are combined and discussed for two alternative concepts of effects: (i) relative improvement with the regimes compared to the situation with no regime, and (ii) the regime's contribution to solving the problem. The findings suggest that international processes can be attributed limited or comprehensive influence depending on the interpretation of the recommendations as well as on the analytical approach chosen in determining influences. Further analysis of the effects of international forest policy processes on forest management and across countries is recommended, and factors considered for such analysis to be informative and credible are proposed.