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Interest Groups in Forest Policy

Interest Groups in Forest Policy. Today’s Lecture. Interest Groups strategies resources Organization, resources, and strategies for Industry Groups Labour Environmental Groups. Analytical Framework: Forces at work in natural resources policy. governance. policies. environment.

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Interest Groups in Forest Policy

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  1. Interest Groups in Forest Policy

  2. Today’s Lecture • Interest Groups • strategies • resources • Organization, resources, and strategies for • Industry Groups • Labour • Environmental Groups

  3. Analytical Framework: Forces at work in natural resources policy governance policies environment actions markets

  4. Which group has more power over forest policy in British Columbia: environmentalists or the forest industry?

  5. How do interest groups try to influence public policy?

  6. Pralle Framework on group strategies - branching out, digging in (p. 16) • Issue definition – • Framing • Linking • Boundaries • Ownership • Actors • Scope • Characterization • conflict • Institutions and Venues • Jurisdiction • Level of authority • Rules of the game

  7. Group Tactics • lobby • influence public opinion • through media • influence market behaviour • finance elections • litigation • form coalitions • direct action (demonstrations, civil disobedience)

  8. Group Resources • money • expertise (substance, process) • control over investment, jobs • skilled leadership (effective, charismatic) • appealing cause • public opinion • contacts

  9. Forest Industry • individual firms • industry associations • provincial • national

  10. Size of Firm, by fraction of AAC, 2003 Sept 3, 2003, MOF

  11. 2000s Consolidation

  12. 2000s Consolidation • Canfor (1) bought Slocan (3) • Riverside (7) bought Lignum (18) • Tolko (10) bought Riverside (6) • West Fraser (3) bought Weldwood (8) from IP • Weyerhaeuser sold its coastal holdings (previously adquired from MacMillan Bloedel) to Brascan, which created Cascadia, which was then bought by Western Forest Products

  13. Size of Firm, by fraction of AAC, 2013source September 2013 The Big 5

  14. Provincial Associations • Council of Forest Industries – Interior Only • Coastal Forest Products Association • Truck Loggers Association

  15. National Association • Forest Products Association of Canada • required 3rd party certification from all of its members by 2005 • Boreal agreement with environmentalists

  16. Forest Industry Resources Structural advantage (privileged position) of business • money advantage • buys expertise, leadership • control over investment, jobs • government seeks reelection • reelection depends on jobs, healthy economy • jobs, growth created by investment • investment a function of business climate • government constrained from undermining business climate • weak economy strengthens business influence over government

  17. Industry Objectives • Profit • Certainty

  18. Industry Strategies • lobbying, campaign finance • coalition building with communities, workers • influence public opinion through media • FPAC op eds

  19. Labour - Objectives • Jobs • Higher wages • Security • Safety

  20. Environmental Organizations - Objectives • Environmental quality • Organizational maintenance

  21. Engo Resources – salience vs. support • Commitment, Diversity (?) • Public Opinion: • Support – general attitudes on an issue • Example: how important is the protection of old growth forests to you? • Salience – how the issue is ranked about most important problems • Example: how important is a party position on old growth conservation to your vote? • Environmental group power function of salience

  22. Power Shift: Market strategies • Create economic power by influencing purchasers of BC forest products • Boycotts • Purchasing policies • Certification (next week)

  23. Environmental Group Influence • general public support • can be jeopardized by “radical” tactics • disadvantage on money, expertise • real power dependent on salience, markets

  24. Groups – Conclusion thus far • Interest groups matter • Different objectives, resources and strategies • Strategic choice can influence policy • Business has structural advantage • Environmentalists can benefit from issue salience and market actions

  25. Actors – Interests and Resources

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