From command-and-control to good forest governance: A critical interpretive analysis of Lithuania and Slovakia Ekaterina Makrickiene1*, Vilis Brukas2, Yvonne Brodrechtova3, Gintautas Mozgeris1, Róbert Sedmák4, Jaroslav Šálka3 1 –Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio g. 58, LT-44248 Kaunas, Lithuania,
[email protected],
[email protected] 2 - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Southern Swedish Forest ResearCh Centre, Sundsvägen 3, SE-23053, Alnarp, Sweden 3 – Technical University in Zvolen, Faculty of Forestry, Department of Economics and Management of Forestry, T. G. Masaryka 24, 96053 Zvolen, Slovakia,
[email protected],
[email protected] 4 - Technical University in Zvolen, Faculty of Forestry, Department of Forest Management and Geodesy, T. G. Masaryka 24, 96053 Zvolen, Slovakia,
[email protected] Abstract As countries with a socialist history, Lithuania and Slovakia have experienced radical transitions in all societal spheres. Despite economic liberalization and privatisation, both countries retain centralized forest management systems. Our study suggests a new methodology for assessing to what extent forestry in a given country is steered by command-and-control as opposed to more adaptive forms of governance. Our ‘Critical Interpretive Analysis’ (CIA) differs in several important aspects from more positivist methods prevalent in recent comparative analyses of forest policies in (post)transitional countries. The analysis involves five criteria, four of which (Efficiency, Equity, Transparency and Participation) are established principles of good governance, and a fifth criterion (Adaptiveness) stemming from the concept of adaptive governance. We found that Lithuania and Slovakia perform best for Transparency, primarily due to extensive availability of information about forest resources. Performance on the other criteria is poor; many of the shortcomings stem from excessive regulation that curbs the decision freedom in all forests irrespective of their ownership or functional priorities.