The Natura 2000 network, which is one of the largest networks of protected areas in the world, is the core pillar in the European Union’s biodiversity conservation policy. To achieve the national enforcement of Natura 2000 and to overcome implementation problems, effective policy measures are needed, and participation among different stakeholders is required. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the process of formulation of the Natura 2000 Management Program (2015–2020) in Slovenia based on a set of criteria and indicators for the evaluation of a participatory process, and to present the differences between the stakeholders’ evaluations according to their role in the implementation process. For that purpose, stakeholders were divided into two groups—stakeholders from project partner’s institution, and others. The research was done in two steps: First, in-depth semi-structured interviews with 17 representatives of the key stakeholders’ institutions or organizations that were involved in the formulation of the Natura 2000 Management Program were carried out; in the second, a survey with 266 stakeholders involved in the formulation and decision-making process was conducted. Overall, the results show that the participatory process was well organized, independent and fair; however, not all of the requisite conditions for successful participation were fulfilled, as was shown with the sub-criteria of transparency. The only difference between the groups exists in the evaluations of the sub-criteria transparency of the process. The group of stakeholders from the project’s partner institutions were more satisfied with the transparency of the process, as the average value was 3.36, compared to the others where the average value of satisfaction was 2.80. This indicates the need for an improved, novel, and innovative approach that leads to multi-level governance.
The complex policy decision-making situation around nature conservation requires examination of the operational environment. This study develops and tests a three-phase analytical framework for the evaluation of operational environment factors influencing nature conservation policy implementation. The four important operational environment factors (legal, policy, economic, and social) have been identified, to build up a framework. The framework was tested in selected countries and includes experts’ opinions. Experts (n = 44) from five EU countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and four non-EU countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) defined and evaluated the factors and sub-factors that affect the operational environment related to nature conservation policy implementation. The results show policy changes arising from the new governance requirements introduced by changed political regime and Europeanization are key driving factors for changes in the nature conservation operational environment. For nature conservation, these wide-reaching changes have led to new political and legal frameworks, new institutional set-ups and multilevel governance frameworks, new establishment of protected areas and Natura 2000 network, and the re-allocation of financial resources and inclusion of non-state actors in policy decision-making. However, there are also some challenges and unsolved problems that need further attention from policy decision-makers and institutions, especially related to the institutional gap, sustainable financing of nature conservation, transposition of the EU Directives into legal systems, designation of sites or improving their implementation, implementation of innovative funding schemes, and a transparent participatory process. This analytical framework can be applied to various problems related to any environmental issues or other policy implementation or management, and other sectors where public decision-making is combined with stakeholders’ engagement.
Stakeholder participation has become an important driving force in policy decision-making and implementation, particularly in the nature conservation sector, where complex interactions and conflict of interest between stakeholders are common. A stakeholder analysis, which was complemented with a social network analysis, was used to examine the cooperation and conflict network between stakeholders, their institutions, and sectors in the case of the formulation of the Natura 2000 Management programme in Slovenia for the period 2015–2020 (PUN). Using data from a web survey (n = 167), cooperation and conflict networks were analysed while using degree centrality, indegree centrality, betweenness centrality, and blockmodeling. The results of the stakeholder analysis showed that the highest number of stakeholders that are involved in the participatory process of PUN was from the forestry and hunting sector, followed by the agriculture and nature conservation sector. The results of the cooperation network showed that the network is highly centralized, with only few institutions taking a central position in the PUN process (Institute for Nature Conservation, Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, and the Slovenian Forest Service). Moreover, the nature conservation sector was, on average, a sector with the highest concentration of power. In addition, in the cooperation network, which was fragmented across sectors, there were institutions that belonged to the same sector, which tended to cooperate with each other. The analysis of the conflict network showed that institutions with a central position in the cooperation network also had a central role in the conflict network. In addition, conflicts between institutions more frequently appeared among institutions from different sectors. The exceptions were institutions from the fishery and water sector, as this sector seemed to have many conflicts within it. Based on a blockmodeling, four groups of institutions were identified according to their cooperation network (core institutions, semi-core institutions, semi-periphery institutions, and periphery institutions). Our finding suggested that the participatory process of formulating PUN needs to be improved in such a way that in the future various stakeholders, especially excluded local ones, are more actively involved and a balance of the power between the stakeholders involved achieved.
IZVLEČEKVečina ključnih problemov gospodarjenja z zasebnimi gozdovi izhaja iz majhne in razdrobljene gozdne posesti, ki je v lasti velikega števila lastnikov. Zato je njihovo povezovanje ključno za bolj učinkovito gospodarjenje. Največji razmah so v zadnjih letih doživela društva lastnikov gozdov, ki so po Zakonu o društvih opredeljena kot samostojno in nepridobitno združenje. Kot odgovor temu se je med člani pokazala težnja po nadgradnji takšne oblike povezovanja v smeri poslovnega povezovanja. V prispevku je predstavljeno Društvo lastnikov gozdov Pohorje-Kozjak kot primer dobre prakse širitve z društvenih aktivnosti na raven poslovnega (zadružnega) sodelovanja. Na vzorcu članov društva in zadruge je bila opravljena anketa o poslovnem povezovanju in možnostih profesionalizacije dela. Za poslovno povezovanje so bolj pripravljeni mlajši lastniki gozdov večjih gozdnih posesti z višjo stopnjo izobrazbe. Člani društva in zadruge so naklonjeni poslovnemu povezovanju in profesionalizaciji, vendar sami nočejo nositi finančnega bremena. Pri tem si želijo pomoči države v smislu finančnih spodbud za podporo dobrim praksam in profesionalizaciji dela.Ključne besede: zasebni gozdovi, povezovanje zasebnih lastnikov gozdov, društvo lastnikov gozdov, gozdarska zadruga, profesionalizacija aktivnosti ABSTRACTMost of the key problems related to private forest management stems from small-scaled and fragmented forest property, which is owned by a large number of owners, therefore their cooperation is crucial for more effective forest management. The greatest expansion in the last years was experienced by private forest owners' societies, which are defined under the Societies Act as independent and non-profit organizations. In response to this, private forest owners are aspiring to upgrade such forms of organization in the direction of a more business-like cooperation. This paper presents the private Pohorje-Kozjak Forest Owners Society as an example of a good practice expansion from society activities onto the level of business (cooperative) cooperation. A survey on business cooperation and opportunities for professionalization of activities was conducted on the sample of members of the society and the forest cooperative. Results showed that younger forest owners, with a larger forest property and a higher education, are more open towards business cooperation. Furthermore, members of the society and the cooperative favour business cooperation and professionalization, but are unwilling to bear the financial burden. As such, they wish a state support in terms of financial stimulation for good practice and professionalization of activities.Key words: private forests, cooperation of private forest owners, forest owners society, business cooperation, forest cooperative, professionalization of activities UVOD INTRODUCTIONSlovenija je poznana kot gozdnata država. Po podatkih Zavoda za gozdove Slovenije našo državo prekriva 58,3 % gozdnih površin. Od tega je kar 76,0 % v zasebni lasti, 21,0 % v lasti države in 3,0 % gozdov v lasti lokalnih...
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