History and Management Institutions for Forests and Pastures of Northern Fenno-Scandia with an Emphasis on Norway

Abstract

"The paper presents some observations on the historical development of legal institutions for forest management in the Norwegian part of northern Fenno-Scandia, discussing the motivations shaping them and outlining the principles currently embedded in them. The emphasis is on forest commons and Norway. Some comparisons to Swedish institutions and other resource usage systems than forest commons are presented. The goals of the lawmaker is seen as equity in access, economic performance of the industries, and protection of the resource productivity. To implement these goals three design principles are used: 1) power sharing between state and appropriators, 2) resource specific regulations of technology and quantity harvested, 3) variable geographical boundaries for access and enjoyment of benefits."