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Gender equality in natural resource management is a matter of sustainability and democracy for Sweden's government, however the country's forest remains a highly gender-segregated sector. We examine how gender inequality is problematized within Swedish forest and rural policy documents using the What's the problem represented to be? (WPR) approach. We build on previous efforts to investigate gender inequality in the forest sector by expanding the critical analysis to rural development policy. We conduct interviews with forest experts, owners, and practitioners to shed light on where there are gaps within the policy representations and uncover alternative policy options that are presented. Our findings corroborate that gender inequality is represented to be a technical problem, with policy measures aiming to increase the number of women within a forest sector that continues to maintain rigid conceptions about forestry production values. While there are claims of success in the increase of women within the sector in aggregate, there is little change in the numbers of women in decision-making positions. Forest policy relies upon women to bring growth and sustainability to the forest industry, while rural policy expects women to halt rural population decline. Our findings suggest that merely trying to fit more women into a mold that has been shaped for and by inflexible forestry and masculine values is an impediment not only to gender equality but also to the inclusion of other social groups and ideas in the changing rural landscapes of Sweden. • Forest policy equates gender equality with technical metrics of female representation. • Women are expected to spur the forest industry's profitability and sustainability, but not in decision-making. • Women are welcome in the forest sector as long as they do not challenge existing values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicting interests make forests an inevitably political issue. We examine the political roles that Finnish forest owners take as decision-makers and citizens. Inspired by post-political theories of democracy, we examine forest owners' aim of open, constructive treatment of the controversies between views, ideologies and actors. Our data consisted of a survey (n = 452) informed by an interview (n = 24). We applied a mixed-method critical discourse analysis. The forest owners produced four alternative discourses of forest-related controversies, the major controversy being that between productivism and environmentalism. The 'involved discourse' positioned itself in between these two ideologies, although closer to the former. From this position, it expressed an eagerness to discuss any issue with anyone. The 'pragmatist discourse' criticised ideological environmentalism but did not perceive its own productivist ideology. The 'receding discourse' perceived its own environmentalist ideology and criticised the productivist one but was not eager to discuss forest policy issues. The 'uninvolved discourse' excluded controversies, and thus the political dimension, from a forest owner's life. The involved discourse was closest to the constructed ideal of respectful, agonist, re-politicisation of forest issues. Recognition of one's own ideology while being comfortably close to the hegemonic view of the forest seemed to be the main factor behind this orientation. Yet, political views that challenged the status quo and demanded a transformative change towards sustainability were pushed into a silent antagonism. A major forest policy challenge is how to bring forest owners with these transformative ideas – the proponents of ecological citizenship – into the sphere of agonist re-politicisation. • Competing discourses affect how forest owners perceive their political roles. • The roles reflected positions in the gradient from productivism to environmentalism. • Environmental orientation led to silent antagonism from subordinate position. • Blindness to the political dimension was common near the productivist core. • Guidance towards active citizenship and agonist interaction is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mapping policy fragmentation highlights the challenge policy integration faces. • Influencing the mandates of competing sectors is key for effective policy integration. • A whole-of-government approach can help to reshape priorities of other sectors. • It is unclear policy integration can succeed in stemming strong market pressure. The Vietnamese National REDD + Action Plan (NRAP) seeks to reduce emissions from forest clearing and land use, especially from the main drivers of coffee and rubber commodity expansion. Achieving the NRAP goals, however, means negotiating a complex and fragmented forest policy arena, with conflicting sector goals, disconnects between global and local ambition and action, and imbalanced power dynamics between actors. We map the fragmentation of this policy arena and explore the extent to which the NRAP is able to integrate policy responses to drivers to achieve emissions reductions. We examine what the NRAP sought to integrate, what was not taken into account, what is integrated at which scale, and which actors are part of integration (or not) across the policy process components. We conclude that if policy integration does not affect a 'whole of government' shift in priorities or change in mandate among driver sectors, fragmented policy arenas will persist and forest-based climate mitigation objectives will not be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Researchers experience tensions within SPIs that cannot always be resolved. • Trade-off between maintaining relationships with influential actors and providing critical insights. • Research funders' preferences can undermine attempts to base SPIs on credible science. • Power shapes the influence of SPIs, and who influences within the SPI. There is growing interest – and need – among researchers and research organizations to contribute societally relevant work as well as to demonstrate the policy impact of their research. Diverse science-policy interfaces (SPIs) aim for scientifically informed policymaking by connecting scientists with policymakers. Effective SPIs need to be grounded in credibility, relevance and legitimacy; at the same time, however, they become part of the complex, politicised web of public policymaking. In this article we examine how forest researchers who participate in diverse SPIs in the context of the Global South navigate this complexity. We apply the concepts of credibility, relevance and legitimacy to explore the tensions researchers experience, as well as the strategies that researchers apply when responding to them. The research is based on in-depth interviews with 23 forest researchers and highlights (i) the tensions related to ensuring both policy and political relevance particularly in the context of research led SPIs; and (ii) tensions arising from the need to maintain credibility in the face of contestation and pressure to omit research critical of existing policies and practice and also the legitimacy of 'experts' operating within the SPI. Ensuring SPI effectiveness (research impact) also emerged as an additional source of tension. While multiple response strategies were identified, including knowledge co-production and strategic engagement with key policy actors, some of the tensions led to compromises, which we discuss. We conclude by highlighting the need to understand power relations in terms of both planning but also evaluating effective SPIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southeast Asia has long promoted social forestry (SF) in conservation areas, fallow forests, tree plantations, areas in timber concessions and locally managed agro-forest systems, with the engagement of diverse actors and objectives. SF has evolved from early aims of empowerment and devolution of rights advocated by global reform movements, and is now reframed in the market ideal as a win–win–win endeavor for sustainable forest management, climate change mitigation and robust entrepreneurial livelihoods. Southeast Asian states have formulated numerous standardized SF programs and policies that are often linked to broader development goals and priorities, but which have not always been a 'win' for local communities in falling short to provide full tenure rights. Civil society organizations that have provided grounded perspectives on environmental justice and rights have also converged with states on entrepreneurship and market-based solutions. Meanwhile, the private sector actor that is seen as key to these solutions is conspicuously absent within the SF policy space. Within this space of diverse and at times contradictory objectives, whose interests do SF policies serve? We examine the social forestry assemblage to investigate the different discourses, interests and agendas in the implementation of SF schemes in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Malaysian state of Sabah. The formal SF schemes involve shifting or reinforcing old discourses around forest problems and possible solutions, territorialization processes that can lead to inequities in the exclusion of rights, participation and access, and risks exacerbating contestations and inequities in claims to forest land and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Specialisation at national level hampers mitigation-adaptation integration. • Local actors prioritize climate adaptation but lack of influence hinders action. • Decentralisation affects cross-level power differentials in land and climate domains. • Dominant national level communities exclude localities from policy decisions. Abstract This article proposes an innovative theoretical framework that combines institutional and policy network approaches to study multi-level governance. The framework is used to derive a number of propositions on how cross-level power imbalances shape communication and collaboration across multiple levels of governance. The framework is then applied to examine the nature of cross-level interactions in climate change mitigation and adaptation policy processes in the land use sectors of Brazil and Indonesia. The paper identifies major barriers to cross-level communication and collaboration between national and sub-national levels. These are due to power imbalances across governance levels that reflect broader institutional differences between federal and decentralized systems of government. In addition, powerful communities operating predominantly at the national level hamper cross-level interactions. The analysis also reveals that engagement of national level actors is more extensive in the mitigation and that of local actors in the adaptation policy domain, and specialisation in one of the climate change responses at the national level hampers effective climate policy integration in the land use sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Hybrid maize provides cash and has advantages in terms of labour allocation. • Swidden is the main food provider and safety net for unforeseen risks. • Maize expansion caused soil and forest degradation and socioeconomic vulnerability. • Maize production did not meet the criteria of green economic development. • Holistic perspectives of human wellbeing and environment are encouraged for GE. Abstract The rapid expansion of hybrid maize in the uplands of northern Laos is viewed by the government as meeting policy aims related to green economic development. Yet, growing evidence of negative consequences of maize expansion are emerging. Based on farmers' perceptions, we study: (1) farmers' reasons for adopting and abandoning maize, and; (2) implications of commercial maize expansion on local livelihood security and inclusiveness (food supply, income, risk coping, and ability to join maize growing), and environmental sustainability (productivity, and soil and forest quality) over time (2013 and 2016). Results show that maize has advantages in terms of labour allocation, and it provides much-needed cash income. Yet, swidden is the main food provider and an essential safety net for unforeseen risks (including maize crop failures or price fluctuations). The way that maize was produced did not meet the criteria of green economic development due to its negative effects on the environment (soil and forest degradation) and socioeconomic sustainability (household differentiation, increased economic risks, debts, and food insecurity). By providing a local perspective, this study encourages a critical reflection of the underlying assumptions and conceptualization of the green economy approach in Laos, and argues for policies and measures that consider a more holistic perspective of human wellbeing and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Based on an empirical study of struggles concerning access to land and political inclusion (and exclusion) in the context of a forest conservation project in rural Burkina Faso, this paper analyses environmental politics through the lens of citizenship. In Centre-east Burkina Faso, a peasant resistance to a newly demarcated forest conservation zone turns into an identity and political conflict involving an international conservation organization, the state, decentralized and customary authorities. Based on shared history and residency, a new citizenship of migrants had emerged. These new citizens, finding their given lands within the new forest conservation area, rejected the project-proposed forest boundaries, put forward their citizenship entitlements and engaged in resistance. Eventually they also found themselves in conflict with their polity, lost their claims along with their still-fragile citizenship. Consequently, they were evicted from the forest and labelled as les déguerpis, denied citizenship and became denizens. Beyond confirming the fragile, processual, nature of citizenship these findings also bear theoretical and conceptual implications, challenge the mainstream way environmental politics are analysed and suggest the need to understand political belonging and citizenship as the very basis of environmental struggles. Highlights • Forest conservation can produce uneven forms of rural citizenship beyond the State. • Citizenship is fragile, processual, and part of an ongoing struggle that reflects but also reforms citizenship itself. • Environmental struggles are often more than about mere access to resources or material benefits, but political belonging. • Such conflicts and resistance can reflect citizenship and belonging but can also result in undermining these. • A citizenship lens enables to uncover agency and social changes in a rural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is envisioned as a performance-based incentive to influence forest use behavior and governance towards the preservation and management of forests. In relatively forest-rich Lao PDR, the policy space that REDD+ planners are attempting to navigate is populated by enduring political and economic interests that affect the country’s forest estate. A further layer to the problem of REDD+ planning is the tension between often expert-driven, externally proposed solutions; national ownership over interventions; and the extent of political will to take action to reform currently unsustainable patterns of forest and forest land exploitation. This paper draws from a series of semi-structured interviews conducted in 2013–2014, to develop a political and institutional analysis of the limitations to the effectiveness of REDD+ in steering towards a lower forest-derived emissions trajectory in Lao PDR. While internationally-driven projects follow long-standing national objectives to varying degrees, it remains unclear how REDD+ can target main drivers of deforestation in the absence of a more politically engaged and nationally-owned planning process, that also challenges the prevailing logic of avoiding these drivers. Despite the importance of improving domestic ownership over REDD+, this would arguably be of limited impact unless oriented towards transformational change that would seek to overcome political and economic barriers to avoided deforestation. Stronger ownership could be developed via more mutually driven REDD+ planning, while tackling main drivers of deforestation necessitates as a starting point the engagement of powerful actors that have so far been absent from REDD+ debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the adoption of discourses on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) across different national contexts. It draws on institutional theories to develop and test a number of hypotheses on the role of shared beliefs and politico-economic institutions in determining the discursive choices of policy actors. The results show that win–win ecological modernization discourse, embraced by powerful government agencies and international actors, dominates national REDD+ policy arenas. This discourse is challenged primarily by a minority reformist civic environmentalist discourse put forward primarily by domestic NGOs. We find evidence that countries with a less democratic political system and large-scale primary sector investments facilitate the adoption of reconciliatory ecological modernization discourse, which may not directly challenge the drivers of deforestation. Policy actors who believe in and are engaged in market-based approaches to REDD+ are much more likely to adopt ecological modernization discourses, compared to policy actors who work on community development and livelihoods issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re-conceptualizes Climate Policy Integration (CPI) in the land use sector to highlight the need to assess the level of integration of mitigation and adaptation objectives and policies to minimize trade-offs and to exploit synergies. It suggests that effective CPI in the land use sector requires i) internal climate policy coherence between mitigation and adaptation objectives and policies; ii) external climate policy coherence between climate change and development objectives; iii) vertical policy integration to mainstream climate change into sectoral policies and; iv) horizontal policy integration by overarching governance structures for cross-sectoral coordination. This framework is used to examine CPI in the land use sector of Indonesia. The findings indicate that adaptation actors and policies are the main advocates of internal policy coherence. External policy coherence between mitigation and development planning is called for, but remains to be operationalized. Bureaucratic politics has in turn undermined vertical and horizontal policy integration. Under these circumstances it is unlikely that the Indonesian bureaucracy can deliver strong coordinated action addressing climate change in the land use sector, unless sectoral ministries internalize a strong mandate on internal and external climate policy coherence and find ways to coordinate policy action effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how and with what possible consequences REDD+ is framed in the national policy arena in Cameroon, Indonesia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Tanzania, and Vietnam. It analyzes the most prominent views and storylines around key REDD+ design features among policy actors and in policy documents. We focus on storylines related to four questions, namely: (1) What should REDD+ achieve: carbon or also non-carbon objectives? (2) Who should monitor REDD+ outcomes: only technical experts or also local communities? (3) At what level should REDD+ be governed: at national or sub-national level? and (4) How should REDD+ be financed: through market- or fund-based sources? The vast majority of policy actors and policy documents frame REDD+ as a mechanism that should also realize non-carbon benefits, yet non-carbon monitoring receives very little attention. In all but one country, policy documents contain plans to involve local communities in the design and/or execution of measuring, reporting and verifying REDD+ outcomes. With regard to the level at which REDD+ should be governed, while most policy documents contain elements of a nested approach to accounting, almost all countries envision a long-term transition to national accounting and benefit distribution. We found strikingly little discussion among policy actors and in policy documents of how to finance REDD+ and acquire results-based payments. In the conclusion we reflect on possible consequences of the prominence of REDD+ storylines in the seven countries, and argue that carbonization and centralization of forest governance are possible outcomes given the limited attention to non-carbon monitoring and the envisioned centralized approaches to REDD+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The political context in Indonesia will affect the success of any reform process aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). Such reforms require strong political support because of their potentially significant medium-term impact on winners and losers in the Indonesian economy. Although REDD+ in Indonesia has strong rhetorical presidential backing, analysis of the political system suggests that such support may not be sufficient without the engagement and ownership of key players such as the parliament and the bureaucracy. Not only is the president's official power curtailed by the formal political system, but the nature of coalition politics in Indonesia further weakens his ability to implement reforms. Securing the support of a coalition of parties within parliament and the bureaucracy at both national and decentralised levels may be crucial to ensuring implementation. Politicisation of the bureaucracy and increasing business–government relationships are important features of the parliamentary dynamic at the national level and are reportedly intensifying at the local level. Although public support has proved influential for other reforms in Indonesia, the public is less informed or motivated by the issues related to REDD+. In addition, the REDD+ debate is tainted by concerns about sovereignty and lack of national ownership. Building domestic constituencies for the reforms and associated institutions is therefore a key challenge. REDD+ reforms will require a stronger consensus among political elites and the broader public over the implications of a transition to a ‘low carbon’ economy in Indonesia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] The issue of land tenure presents not only risks but also opportunities under REDD+. [•] REDD+ research suggests few serious initiatives to address tenure nationally but important local efforts. [•] REDD+ has brought unprecedented attention to local and customary tenure rights. [•] Support for tenure reform under REDD+ has arisen from unexpected actors. [•] Serious interest in both REDD+ and tenure reform requires challenging ‘business as usual’. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In West Africa, rural livelihoods depending on natural resources develop coping and adapting strategies to face climate variability or change and economic or political changes. The former Lake Faguibine in northern Mali has experienced drastic ecological, social, and economic changes. Forests have emerged on the former lake and have become important for local livelihoods. This paper analyses the coping and adapting strategies of forest- and livestock-based livelihoods facing ecological changes. Results from field research at different levels indicate that most local strategies are based on diversification including migration within the livestock production system or in complement to it, with differences according to gender, age, and ethnicity. Political discourses, cultural identities, and past experiences influence and shape adaptation strategies at the local level. The sustainability of the observed strategies depends on the access to natural resources and the sustainable management of these resources, which in turn depends on institutions at local and national levels. Many local strategies are reactive to external events but would need strategic support from higher levels to move from coping to adapting. Examples are the development of institutions and technical actions for natural resource management, as well as development actions supporting local strategies and sustainable investments. Researchers, practitioners and development planners will need simple methods and tools for understanding and analysing local adaptation perceptions and actions to achieve an effective support of sustainable and gender-equitable local adaptation and to avoid mismatches between strategies proposed by local and by sub national and national actors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) is a global mechanism being debated by the international community, aimed at mitigating dangerous climate change. It is a complex multilevel and multistakeholder process that tends to fulfill multiple goals beyond emission reduction. The lessons we are beginning to learn through a Global Comparative Study show that a cross-sectoral transformation is needed to change the course of sectoral drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. Sufficient capacity of government at all levels is crucial to guide the policy processes, benefit sharing, and technical support. Uncertainties around tenure issues and property rights may generate new problems that undermine the interests of society at large. The first generation of REDD+ activities also exhibited varying levels of capacity for monitoring REDD+ in non-Annex I countries. Large capacity gaps are found for developing reference levels and establishing measurement, reporting and verification systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coalition formation inside South African tree plantation politics is analysed. • Interviews with organisational elites to determine the contributions of different types of policy beliefs to coalition formation. • Based on shared core beliefs, a "business-as-usual" coalition and a "justice and change" coalition are identified. Competing coalitions can stabilise policymaking and hinder policy changes that are required to address the mounting pressures on land use systems across the globe. Thus, understanding the driving forces of coalition formation is important. This paper builds on the Advocacy Coalition Framework to determine the relative contributions of two sets of beliefs (more general policy core beliefs and more specific beliefs concerning policy instruments) to coalition formation in South African tree plantation politics and to identify coalitions therein. Discourse Network Analysis was used to code 656 statements regarding 40 beliefs to create network data from 55 interviews with organisational elites. Results from a network analysis of the twelve most salient beliefs indicate that dissimilar policy core beliefs about the validity of environmental regulation, social costs of tree plantations, and the conditionality of land reform in South Africa divide actors into two coalitions: the hegemonic "business-as-usual" coalition and the minority "justice and change" coalition. These boundaries were confirmed by comparing the network based on shared policy core beliefs with a co-ordination network. Dissimilar beliefs concerning policy instruments, including eco-certification and an indicative zoning, also divide actors, yet actors' reasoning for or against these instruments differ to the degree that united fronts are unlikely to form. Hegemonic coalitions that combine selected state and business interests with labour arguments and prioritise short-term economic efficiency threaten to delay the necessary changes away from business-as-usual across land use systems in South Africa and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There is a disparity between what is perceived as drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and following proposed measures. • Swidden is seen as a political issue and different interpretations of the problem exist from national, provincial, district, commune to village level. • Actors associated to swidden might be marginalized in REDD+ and PES design and implementation. • REDD+ policies should consider divergent political interests on controversial land uses and their potential of ecosystem services. Swidden cultivation practices have been seen as a major driver of deforestation and forest degradation in Southeast Asia. Using two case studies from Vietnam, this paper examines discourses around swidden practices at multiple levels of governance. Our findings show diverse interpretations of swidden resulting in different policy preferences and policy translations when addressing the issue. At national level, swidden is blamed as a principal driver of deforestation and forest degradation, and as such is a practice to be eliminated. As a result of this national stance, provincial level authorities see the existence of swidden as a failure by which their political performance will be judged. Conversely, swidden communities are seen at district level as an innovative solution to help resource-limited police forces ensure national security in border areas. Local commune and village leaders view swidden as a traditional practice to be respected, so as to maintain harmonious relationships amongst social groups, and avoid ethnic groups protesting against the government. Such differences in discourses and political interests have led to swidden becoming an 'invisible' issue, with government authorities failing to collect and report on data. Not recognizing swidden also means that swidden actors are practically 'forgotten' in the design and implementation of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). Their omission from forest conservation and management incentive programmes could lead to further social marginalization, and potentially result in deforestation and forest degradation in the area. Our findings suggest that REDD+ policies should take into account diverging political interests on controversial land uses such as swidden cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Transgovernmental networks can leverage members' legal authority for climate action. • Lack of autonomy and resources limit subnational governments' participation. • Participation in networks is most valued by resource constrained governments. • Limited geographic and stakeholder representation constrain legitimacy. • Gender representation reflects country specific gender biases in political office. Transnational climate change initiatives have increased in number and relevance within the global climate change regime. Despite being largely welcomed, there are concerns about their ability to deliver ambitious climate action and about their democratic legitimacy. This paper disentangles the nature of both authority and legitimacy of a specific form of transnational networks, transgovernmental networks of subnational governments. It then investigates how a major transgovernmental initiative focusing on tropical forests, the Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force, attempts to command authority and to build and maintain its legitimacy. The paper illustrates the particular challenges faced by initiatives formed primarily by jurisdictions from the Global South. Three major trade-offs related to authority and legitimacy dimensions are identified: first, the difficulty of balancing the need for increased representation with performance on ambitious climate goals; second, the need to deliver effectiveness while ensuring transparency of governance processes; and third, the limited ability to leverage formal authority of members to deliver climate action in local jurisdictions, while depending on external funds from the Global North. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Norway, Germany and the UK have increased their spending, institutionalization and coordination efforts on REDD+. • Their approaches vary in crucial ways and have generated different kinds of lessons. • Funding objectives and approaches have shifted to land-use, co-benefits and global efforts of transformation. • Norway's strongest contribution is financial and political at political/social and institutional/structural levels. • Germany's strongest contribution is systematic and technical at cognitive/technical and social/political levels. • The UK's strongest contribution is pragmatic and analytical at cognitive/technical and social/political levels. • Merely adjusting the system in incremental ways will likely not solve the problems at hand. • Instead, novel modes of learning to facilitate such a transition are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]