Programmvereinbarungen Wald – strategische und operative Ebene im Zusammenspiel (Essay)

Abstract

Forest Program Agreements – interplay between the strategic and the operational level (essay) With the reform of the fiscal equalization and division of tasks between the Confederation and the cantons program agreements were introduced as a new subsidy instrument in Swiss forest policy. The forest policy tasks continue to be jointly performed by the Confederation and the cantons, as was the case prior to the latter reform. The Confederation and the cantons are confronted with the challenge of balancing strategic steering by the Confederation and implementation by the cantons. This essay shows that in the domains of protection forest, forest biodiversity and forest management there are big differences in terms of how and to what extent the Confederation includes the cantons in the further development of the respective program agreements. In addition, the degree of steering through the Confederation varies in these three domains. Due to diverse objects of funding the Confederation steers broadly in the domain of forest management, but not in great detail. Conversely, the steering by the Confederation in the domains of protection forest and forest biodiversity is less broad, but due to the detailed content specifications the steering depth is high in these domains.