Archetype analysis offorest policies and measures: towards a new typology

Abstract

Decision makers have access to a large and growing toolbox of policies and measures that can, in theory, contribute to reducing deforestation and forest degradation. Middle-range theories can be formulated to summarize the conditions under which forest policies and measures are effective in halting deforestation and forest degradation. Such a diagnostics approach can, in turn, provide useful information to help decision makers avoid the trap of one-size-fits-all policy solutions and implement well-informed, context-specific policy solutions. A key element in this approach is the construction of a typology of forest policies and measures. Here we develop and apply an archetype analysis of forest policy and measures as a systematic, bottom-up and replicable way to build such a typology. Our empirical approach is based on three key elements: a broad universe of cases of forest policies and measures, a generic theory of change (ToC) of forest policies and measures, and a list of attributes characterizing this theory of change. Overall, we identify and characterize 10 broad types of forest policies. On the hand, these encompass historical solutions aimed at changing producers’ behaviours such as command-and-control policies and economic incentives. On the other, they encompass emerging demand-side policies and policies triggering psychological mechanisms such as social belongingness.