Understanding decentralized forest governance: an application of the institutional analysis and development framework

Abstract

This paper analyzes how local institutional arrangements shape outcomes in the increasingly decentralized policy regimes of the non-industrialized world. The goal is to evaluate local institutional strategies associated with effective forest governance. I use the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework to study the institutional condi- tions conducive to effective decentralized forest governance and how these relate to sustainability. The IAD-guided analysis allows me to formulate a series of testable hypotheses about which institutional factors influence the likeli- hood for successful governance outcomes in a decentralized context. I then test the hypotheses using recent empiri- cal data from forestry-sector activities in 32 randomly selected municipal governments in Bolivia. Preliminary results suggest that local governance systems are more successful when the system’s governance actors enjoy favorable conditions for information exchange and learning.