Share to learn? The role of actor attitudes and information exchange for policy-oriented learning concerning carbon sinks in forests vs. timber: A case study in the canton of Berne
Creators: name: Burgdorf, Silvia
Publisher: name: ETH Zurich
Year: 2021

description: Climate change and its effects require effective solutions to mitigate and avoid greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement translate global to Swiss mitigation targets, which bring in forests and timber as potential carbon sinks. However, it remains unclear how the sinks are best combined in a local context, especially when forest stands simultaneously fulfill multiple functions. As a result, there is a potential for trade-offs, especially when some functions are prioritized over others to meet climate mitigation targets. Since the Swiss national vote on 13 June 2021 refuted a new CO2 law, future policies and the role of forests are again open to define. So far, few actors have publicly taken position, where information as a potential driver to develop attitudes comes in. Especially in new policy areas, such as carbon sinks, where the knowledge about the problem and its’ underlying factors is incomplete or uncertain, information comes center-stage. Hence, this study’s main goal is to answer the research question how actor attitudes and the exchange of information contribute to policy-oriented learning concerning carbon sinks in the forest vs. timber.
In the given context, learning describes an alteration of the mindset or intention of actors including policy objectives through information. I rely on the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) since it combines policy beliefs with the exchange of information. While the ACF serves as the study’s framework, I apply a social network analysis (SNA) to visually and quantitatively explore my expectations. Besides, I use scoping interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the found patterns. The empirical focus on the canton of Berne provides valuable insights about a representative canton for Switzerland with ecologically diverse forests serving multiple functions depending on the local context and a broad range of involved actors for their management. I collected data on policy beliefs and information exchange regarding carbon sinks in the forest vs. timber through five scoping interviews and a comprehensive survey sent to 70 actors relevant for the canton of Berne’s forest policy.
Considering my overall research question, I can state that the studied actor attitudes influence to some degree how actors exchange information and hence contribute to policy-oriented learning. The analysis shows that policy instruments partly explain information exchange concerning carbon sinks, especially amongst the supporters of timber use. Therein, few central stakeholders such as cantonal and federal administrations play a crucial role as intermediaries for knowledge transfer. Besides, although many actors described the complexity of carbon sinks as a main hindering factor, it does not explain their information search and patterns of providing information. Finally, the results underline a high potential for policy-oriented learning within as well as across different beliefs concerning carbon sinks in the canton of Berne.
Finally, according to the ACF and actors’ comments, a neutral platform to exchange information and define a common baseline for carbon sinks in forests and timber is missing. Since the ACF literature matches actors’ needs, I propose the central stakeholders identified in this study establish, for example, a forum to close this gap. Therein, these actors should become aware of their role as intermediaries between diverging policy beliefs concerning carbon sinks. Finally, based on the results of this study, I assume there is enough common ground to establish effective policies respecting the multifunctionality of the Bernese forests, just as the diversity of values of the people who manage and use it.