Waldausdehnung im Berggebiet: Prozesse und Entwicklungen in der Schweizer Waldpolitik

Forest expansion in mountain areas: processes and developments in Swiss forest policy The use and protection of mountain landscapes is steered by several public policies, yet forest and agricultural policies play a particularly crucial role due to the relatively large share of forested and agricultural land in those areas. Both forest and agricultural policy are traditional sectoral policies that went through significant changes over the last years. In this article, we focus on the reform efforts in Swiss forest policy with particular attention to the issue of forest expansion in mountain areas. We first describe the relevant forest policy reform processes over the period from the year 2000 to 2012 using the Actor-Process-Event Scheme (APES), and analyze the underlying policy network. We then refer to other policy developments with potentially significant effects on forested areas, including changes in agricultural policy, and discuss the resulting consequences for the specific situation in Swiss mountain areas. The study shows that not only the goals and instruments of the Swiss federal forest policy gradually changed, but also – at least partly – the decision-making structures. Furthermore, it can be shown that the issue of forest expansion in mountain areas has mainly been discussed in the context of forest policy processes. Solutions to the issue, however, will also require appropriate policy instruments in spatial planning and agricultural policy.