“The Swedish forestry model” refers to the forest regime that evolved following the 1993 revision of the Swedish Forestry Act. It is key to Swedish forest politics and used to capture the essence of a sustainable way of managing forests. However, the ideas, institutions and practices comprising the model have not been comprehensively analyzed previously. Addressing this knowledge gap, we use frame analysis and a Pathways approach to investigate the underlying governance model, focusing on the way policy problems are addressed, goals, implementation procedures, outcomes and the resulting pathways to sustainability. We suggest that the institutionally embedded response to pressing sustainability challenges and increasing demands is expansion, inclusion and integration: more of everything. The more-of-everything pathway is influenced by ideas of ecological modernization and the optimistic view that existing resources can be increased. Our findings suggest that in effect it prioritizes the economic dimension of sustainability. While broadening out policy formulation it closes down the range of alternative outputs, a shortcoming that hampers its capacity to respond to current sustainability challenges. Consequently, there is a need for a broad public debate regarding not only the role of forests in future society, but also the operationalization of sustainable development.

Over the last two decades intergovernmental organizations have supported the initiation of National Forest Programs (NFPs): forums for joint deliberation by the state, private companies and NGOs that are intended to resolve conflicts over forestry and enhance sustainability. However, NFPs do not always reconcile conflicting perspectives or produce legitimate strategies for sustainable forestry. Thus, further analysis of NFPs' organization and processes is required, including exploration of effective means to address such challenges in early stages. These are key concerns of this paper, focusing on the first process to establish a Swedish NFP. Possibilities for an NFP to constitute a new arena for deliberation and consensus-building, producing forest policy statements and action plans considered legitimate by various stakeholders, are discussed. A number of key challenges are identified through a theoretical framework based on notions regarding the input and output legitimacy of collaborative governance. Analysis of official documentation, records of public hearings and stakeholder comments from the establishment phase in 2013–2015 suggests that the process will continually face a number of challenges, including balancing production and conservation values in the new bio-economy and securing equal stakeholder participation. The paper concludes with some remarks on the future of the NFP process.

This article addresses the issue of to what extent forest certification schemes contribute to the enhancement of environmental protection in Swedish forestry. Our assessment is built on the analysis of three different data sets, namely: 1) the Swedish National Forest Inventory (NFI), 2) the Swedish Database for Forest Owner Analysis, presenting data on small-scale forestry practices and certification, and 3) a follow-up mail survey addressed to private small-scale forest owners with certified forest properties. Our NFI analysis indicated some minor improvements in forest conditions, corresponding with the interim target for enhanced biological diversity (dead wood, broad-leaved trees and old forests). The improvements were less evident on large-scale forest properties (certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council scheme) than on small-scale private forest properties (mainly certified in accordance with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes). This contradicts a common assumption that a much higher degree of certification with stricter environmental standards will give more evident positive impacts on environmental conditions. However, results from the follow-up survey showed that more harvesting activity had taken place on certified small-scale forest properties than on non-certified properties. This could mean more negative effects on biodiversity. We conclude by stressing the importance of improving quantitative methods for determining a cause-and-effect relationship between certification and nature protection; previous research tends to report rather far-reaching conclusions based on limited data sets.

Carnivore conservation is considered essential because the species offer significant benefits to biodiversity. However, their predation on ungulates reduces ungulate populations with subsequent effects on hunters' harvests and welfare. In this paper, we use the hedonic price method to estimate the effects of large carnivores on hunting lease prices. We disentangle the impact of carnivores through their effect on game harvest from their effect on hunters' preferences. Results reveal that lynx impose a significant economic cost to owners of hunting rights due to the predation of game. On average, the implicit cost of an additional lynx family is SEK 1.51 million (EUR 0.162 million) per year, and with 95% certainty, the cost per lynx family is at least SEK 340 thousand (EUR 36.6 thousand) per year.

Efforts to develop new governance systems in environmental policy at the international, national and subnational level face multiple challenges. In the context of these challenges, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was established by the United Nations in 2012 to become the leading intergovernmental body for assessing the state of the planet’s biodiversity, its ecosystems, and the essential contributions they provide to society. In this note, we refer to the Regional Assessment for Europe and Central Asia. As co-authors of the report, we present the results of our assessment focusing on the forest sector due to its high potential for conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem services. Notwithstanding several knowledge gaps, the IPBES regional assessment provides a valuable basis to make better-informed decisions. It identifies promising governance options by mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the sustained provision of ecosystem services into public and private decision making, emphasising a more pro-active and goal-oriented policy approach. To which degree these options can be realized and which pathways will be taken towards a sustainable transition is a matter of societal choice, including policy, economy and citizens.