Towards co-ownership in forest management: Analysis of a pioneering case ‘Bosland’ (Flanders, Belgium) through transition lenses
Forest management in Western-Europe is evolving towards multifunctionality and higher levels of sustainability. Co-owned forest managing models, where different owners collaborate and forest users participate however, are still rather an exception of a rule. Bosland (literally forest-land) in Flande...
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| Published in: | Forest policy and economics 2015-01, Vol.50, p.98-109 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Forest management in Western-Europe is evolving towards multifunctionality and higher levels of sustainability. Co-owned forest managing models, where different owners collaborate and forest users participate however, are still rather an exception of a rule. Bosland (literally forest-land) in Flanders (Belgium) is a statutory partnership of several public forest owners and stakeholders, managing an area of about 22,000ha of previously fragmented forest relicts. By looking at this case through transition lenses we describe a pioneering case in forest management where a new way of management is adopted more geared towards management for coherence across multiple ecosystem services and across a multitude of stakeholders. By use of a learning history we were able to reconstruct the change trajectory of Bosland. Analysis of this change trajectory through transition lenses aided to identify essential key features in which Bosland differs from ‘management as usual’ approaches:(i)a distinctive paradigm shift towards management for coherence;(ii)a long term vision that informs and guides the short-term action agenda;(iii)a bottom up approach focusing on participation and co-creation.
The methods used and lessons learnt in Bosland can thus be highly interesting for the wider community involved in forest and nature management.
•Co-owned forests, where owners collaborate and users participate, remain scarce.•Bosland unites management across a range of ecosystem services and stakeholders.•The change trajectory towards Bosland is described by use of a learning history.•Adoption of a transition perspective supported identification of innovative features.•Bosland is a pioneering case of co-creation and co-ownership in forest management. |
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| ISSN: | 1389-9341 1872-7050 |