The National Forest Programme in the light of Austriaʹs law and political culture

This paper analyses the existing legal framework and political culture in Austria with regard to the procedural elements and output of a National Forest Programme (NFP). The procedural elements of a NFP have been defined by international organisations in the Rio follow-up process. The output of a NFP relates to the goal of the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of forests. At present there is no NFP in Austria. For the procedural elements of participation, intersectoral co-ordination and long-term, iterative and adaptive planning a weak legal framework exists that has so far impeded NFP formation. Regarding the output of a NFP, the Austrian Forest Act and other forest regulations focus strongly on timber production rather than ecological, social and cultural goals. On account of these shortcomings, the process and output of a substantive NFP requires some changes in Austriaʹs legal framework and political culture. The corporatist structure of the Austrian forestry sector appears to be the central explicative variable for the weak shaping of most of the NFP elements in legislation and practice.