Die Berner Waldpolitik im «Kampf der Ideologien» (Essay)

Forest policy of the Canton of Berne in “the struggle of ideologies” (essay) The Swiss cantons are drifting apart from each other in important questions about the forest economy. Even if the differing cantonal conditions may partly explain the varying approaches, it's problematic. The differences constrain the development of the national forest policy and timber industry and may also lead to risks for the forest economy and the cantonal forest services. The article presents a typology to describe cantonal forest policies and aims to stimulate a discussion between the cantons. A central issue is the role played by the state in the forest economy. The “provisioning state” considers the forest sector as a public service, due to the public interest and provides the services itself. The neo-liberal “minimal state” fully privatises the forest economy and operates on the principle that the market will satisfy all needs in the most efficient way. Forest policy in the Canton of Berne considers the state as the guarantor of the forest's services. This approach is located between the two mentioned extremes: the state defines the services which are needed and ensures that these are supplied by an entrepreneurial forest economy. Thus, the structural development of the forest economy in the Canton of Berne is the key to success and also one of the core concerns of the cantonal forest strategy.