VALUE CREATION ON NORWAY’S GREEN GOLD An analysis of policy formulation and implementation in the field of nature conservation Gunn Elin Fedreheim Ph.D in Sociology University of Nordland PhD in Sociology no. 12 (2013) Gunn Elin Fedreheim Value creation on Norway’s green gold. An analysis of policy formulation and implementation in the field of nature conservation. © University of Nordland ISBN: 978-82-92958-11-7 Print: Trykkeriet UiN University of Nordland N-8049 Bodø Tel: +47 75 51 72 00 www.uin.no Front page picture: Hiking to Solvågtind (© Jim Tovås Kristensen) All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission from University of Nordland. ii To my two beloved children, for constantly reminding me of what is most important in life To my husband, for your enduring love, caring, and understanding To my parents, for the unconditioned love and support throughout this work and my whole life iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A long journey has finally come to its end, marked with this dissertation and a Philosophiae doctor degree. More important than the degree, though, is the learning process I have undergone and all the fabulous people I have met along the way, many of whom became good friends. The most important people in this process are my informants! Thank you for taking the time to meet me and for sharing all your experiences, thoughts, and considerations. I am grateful to those who made it possible for me to work in this important field. First of all, I would like to thank the Norwegian Research Council for funding the project “Protected areas as resources for coastal and rural business development” (PROBUS), and the North Norwegian Agricultural Council for initiating it. The project group in PROBUS contributed with literature, media cuttings, and fruitful and insightful discussions; thank you Ronald Bjøru, Svein Morten Eilertsen, Bjørn Godal, Tone Magnussen, and Audun Sandberg for giving me such a warm welcome to commissioned research. Project work and meetings were always fun as well as informative! The process of learning during a PhD period involves participation in several courses, seminars, and conferences. I would like to thank both organizers and fellow scholars for encouraging and challenging me, and for providing fruitful discussions throughout various courses at the University of Nordland, Mittuniversitetet, Luleå Universitet, Umeå Universitet, The Institute of Forestry Economics of the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität and the Walter-Eucken-Institut Freiburg, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and The Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University. I would like to direct a warm thank you to the staff, faculty, and directors at the Ostrom Workshop for their welcoming and open attitude toward scholars. Two long stays at the Ostrom Workshop in 2007 and 2010/2011 boosted my learning. I am especially grateful to have had the opportunity to spend time with Elinor Ostrom, who imparted knowledge, posed challenging questions, and gave encouragement to everyone around her. Colleagues at Nordland Research Institute have supported me in more ways than I can mention here. In addition to thanking the whole institute, I would like to direct more precise thanks to the following colleagues: Tone, for always being supportive, for providing me with small surprises in my mail box, and for always keeping both PROBUS and my PhD in mind when reading newspapers, journals, iv and more. Ingrid BL for always challenging me to decide what I really wanted to do, and for pushing me into writing and actually producing text, as well as being supportive and understanding when multitasking seemed insuperable! Former colleague Lars for challenging my prejudices and my understanding throughout the writing of one of the PROBUS reports. And even though we barely have worked together, I am grateful for Ingrid R’s and Ingebjørg's support and for sharing this process with you! I would also like to thank the staff at the research institute for your help in every aspect of the research process, and a warm thanks to the people working at the library at the University of Nordland for providing services way above what was expected! Other colleagues around the world also deserve thanks. First, Anna Zachrisson for finding the perfect moment to finish your own dissertation and sending it to me, thus providing me with excellent reading during my first maternity leave. And to Camilla Risvoll Godø for all our fruitful discussions of work, your curiosity, and your ability to ask questions. A warm thank you to Ester Blanco for being a good friend as well as an inspiring co-author. A special thanks to Insa Theesfeld for taking the time to read and comment on the first “final” draft of the dissertation, and even babysitting while visiting in Norway! Thank you, Mette Nygård for your support and encouragement. And finally, thank you Heidi Rapp Nilsen for your presence in the last phases of the work in Harstad, and for being such a good office neighbor and discussion partner. During the first meeting with my supervisor, Audun Sandberg, he told me that the PhD period should be the best time ever in my academic life since I would have time to dig into one specific topic. He also told me that whenever I felt it was not fun any longer I should come to him for support! Tutorials were always fun and interesting. Thank you for pushing me forward, for understanding that I sometimes was too exhausted to think and talk academically, and for always emphasizing that this was a process in which we were both learning. Your compassion for people around you is remarkable, and I am grateful for how you prioritize your students! A warm thank you also to Marit Reitan for contributing greatly at the exact moment when I needed it. I would also like to thank my dissertation committee for their thorough reading and their comments, assessments, and critiques. And a warm thank you to Joanna Broderick for your great work with editing and proofreading the manuscript. During these years, I have moved a lot, and thus needed a place to sleep during my stays at the research institute. Many thanks to those of you who opened your homes and invited me to stay with you: Ingrid and Ove, Ingebjørg and Einar, Mia and Tomas, Inger Lise and Birger, and Camilla and Per. v My parents Ester and Oddmar and siblings Kjetil and Stein Arne (with spouses) have been extremely important with your encouragement throughout my whole academic course, even though some of you never had an idea of what I was actually doing! My parents have always been supportive, always understanding, and always on my side. The joy of being outdoors was emphasized in my childhood home, and contributed to my love of nature and study interests, and thus provided me with a keen interest in this research field. I met my husband, Tommy, during my first months as a research fellow. You have supported me in all my choices, also in moving to the USA for four months when we had just started seeing each other, and you even agreed to move with me in 2010/2011. When I complained about being apart during my first stay in the USA, you always reminded me of the academic importance staying at the Ostrom Workshop would have for me, and you never made me feel guilty for travelling and leaving you behind. I am grateful for always having a safe and strong spouse whom I rely on in every situation, and whose support was decisive for the finalization of this work. Thank you Tommy for sharing all my ups and downs and for being the best father our children could possibly have! And my last gratitude goes to these two: Magnus and Karen you have made my life complete! Harstad September 2, 2013 Gunn Elin Fedreheim vi SUMMARY This dissertation’s puzzle is to ascertain why a policy from 2003 aimed at increasing nature-based tourism in Norway has not yet lead to changes for tourism operators. The underlying expectations were that such a policy decision, which marked a shift in Norwegian environmental politics from a conservation path to a conservation-and-use path, would lead to institutional changes or the crafting of new institutions. Hence, this dissertation aims at answering the question "What facilitates or hinders whether a policy decision in the end leads to institutional change?" The purpose of investigating this question was to understand why this policy did not lead to changes for tourism operators, as well as to describe how a policy decision relates to an institutional change and vice versa. The policy studied here is called the Mountain Text (Fjellteksten) and aims to increase nature-based tourism in protected areas in Norway. Internationally a recent acknowledgment of conservation’s shortcomings resulted in a "new conservation paradigm" which Norway responded to with the Mountain Text. One of the goals of the Mountain Text was to increase the legitimacy of protected areas, because prior to 2003 Norwegians had a negative attitude toward them. In this dissertation, policies are understood as series of dynamic decisions that are formulated and influenced by other policies. Policy making is described as a cycle in which three overlapping and interdependent activities take place: policy formulation, policy decision, and policy implementation. Policy making does, in many cases, lead to institutional changes, or may come as a result of institutional changes. Institutions are here understood as Elinor Ostrom defined them: "the prescriptions that humans use to organize all forms of repetitive and structured interactions including those within families, neighborhoods, markets, firms, sports leagues, churches, private associations, and governments at all scales." Institutions and policies share many characteristics, they are both dependent on previous policies and institutions, and thus are influenced by them.