Conclusion: Bringing it all Together

POLI 404

Agenda

Simulation debrief Final exam overview Course overview Core elements Themes

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Simulation

EBM Simulation

65% retention

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Undergrad ABT Simulation

Reallocation of tenure Industry 1/3 First Nations 1/3 Communities and regional organizations

1/3

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Grad ABT Simulation

100% of tenures from large corporations are converted

8% of industrial licences reallocated to First Nations

And licensees are committed to economic diversification of value added

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Simulation feedback

What one thing could be improved for the preparation for the simulation?

What one thing could be improved about the simulation evening itself?

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Final Exam December 12 – 3:30-5:30 2 hour exam All material from policy

agenda+ formulation forward

Responsible for themes for whole course

Responsible for specifics of readings and lectures only from agenda and formulation forward except section of Chap 1 ISOS on policy cycle

Review session: Tu Dec 10?

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What are the two most significant things you learned in this course?

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Most significant learnings

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Course Organization

Forces at work framework Cases

Great Bear Rainforest Mountain Pine Beetle

How government works Interest Groups: Strategies and Resources First Nations – Transformation of Governance International Context US Influence Policy Cycle

Policy Formulation Decision-making and Policy Design Implementation

New Values: Carbon (and Bio-energy) Comparisons

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Key elements

Forces at work framework How government works Interest Groups: Strategies and Resources First Nations – Transformation of Governance International Context US Influence Policy Cycle

Policy Formulation Decision-making and Policy Design Implementation

New Values: Carbon and Bio-energy Comparisons

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What are the two things you most wanted to learn about that were missing?

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What’ s missing?

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Key elements

Forces at work framework

How government works

Interest Groups First Nations International Context US Influence Policy Cycle

Policy Formulation Decision-making and

Policy Design Implementation

New Values: Carbon and Bio-energy

Comparisons

Cases Great Bear Rainforest Mountain Pine Beetle

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Policy Categories1. tenure 2. Stumpage3. Rate of harvest4. Land Use zoning5. Regulation of Forest

Practices6. Emergent areas –

carbon

Analytical Framework: Forces at work in natural resources policy

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environment

governance

markets

policies

actions

Conse-quences

Institutions and Governance Policies are produced through governance processes,

influenced by environment and markets. Governance addresses who decides, who participates, at

what level of government, and with which instruments. Canadian forest policy is dominated by the provincial level

of government. BC’s government is dominated by the executive,

particularly the premier. Courts have played a limited role in forest policy, with the

exception of Aboriginal issues, because of the discretionary nature of BC statutes.

Institutional design matters because the balance of preferences may change as the location of authority changes

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Actors: Strategies and Resources

Actors in the policy process have interests and resources, and adopt strategies designed to best use those resources in pursuit of their interests

Politicians are primarily driven by electoral incentives, making public opinion a significant constraint on government action

Business control over investment gives it a structural advantage

Public opinion is far more influential on policy makers when it is salient

Environmentalists have effectively used market-oriented strategies to increase their power

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First Nations

First Nations have effectively used the courts to increase their power

The BC government has undergone a profound shift in relations towards First Nations, from active repression through resistance and now apparently sincere efforts at reconciliation

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International Influences

Changes in international markets and technology have undercut BC’s comparative advantage

A combination of globally valued resources and reliance on trade makes BC highly vulnerable to international influences

Certification has increased the influence of private standard-setting organizations but there is little evidence of on-the-ground impacts

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US Influence

US trade pressures have pushed costs up and constrained BC’s policy sovereignty.

BC’s market-oriented forest policy reforms were strongly influenced by trade pressures by the United States

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5 stage Policy Cycle Model

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Agenda-Setting

Policy Formulation

Decisionmaking

Policy Implementation

Monitoring and Evaluation

Policy CycleAgenda-setting

Issues get on the government agenda through a confluence of problem and politics streams

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Policy CyclePolicy Formulation

Policy formulation involves both “thinking” (analysis) and “talking” (consultation with stakeholders)

The best argument explicitly addresses an opponents’ strongest claim and addresses it with evidence and reason

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Policy Cycle:Decision-making

Because of the challenges to conflict resolution, policy is often made without clarifying objectives

Because of limited resources, rational decision-making is usually not feasible

A major challenge for forest policy making is designing policies to accommodate spatial diversity

Forest practices regulation in BC relies on a combination of vague performance objectives, practice requirements, and planning requirements. In comparative terms, BC’s regulatory framework is highly stringent.

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Implementation Challenges

There is a tension between factors for success in decision-making (agreement) and implementation (clarity and specificity)

The meaning is in the detail: it is impossible to understand how policy affects the distribution of values without understanding the details of policy design and implementation.

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Emerging Values: Carbon, Bio-energy

BC’s forests can potentially contribute to greenhouse gas reductions, but immense complexity and uncertainty make effective and efficient policy design very difficult

Forest bioenergy in BC is likely to be a significant, economical source of energy only as a residual product of the forest sector.

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Comparative context

In comparative context, BC forest policy is relatively distinct in a number of ways, among them: a high level of government ownership, the limited role for the federal government, and a focus on natural forest management in old growth forests.

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From next Tuesday

Potential beneficial policy changes are frequently thwarted by intellectual, political, and/or institutional obstacles. Path dependence increases the costs of change.

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Key elements

Forces at work framework

How government works

Interest Groups First Nations International Context US Influence Policy Cycle

Policy Formulation Decision-making and

Policy Design Implementation

New Values: Carbon and Bio-energy

Comparisons

Cases Great Bear Rainforest Mountain Pine Beetle

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Policy Categories1. tenure 2. Stumpage3. Rate of harvest4. Land Use zoning5. Regulation of Forest

Practices6. Emergent areas –

carbon, energy

Thursday

More feedback on course – how to improve it for next year?

What would a more “sustainable” future look like?

What are the barriers to achieving that?

How can we overcome them?

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