ABSTRACT
Processes linked to European forest policies serve as starting point for reflections upon concepts of forest policy. Embedding the analysis within this context allows also touching some practical aspects of the European forest policy. The article indicates changes within the social structures and political processes that affect the perception and function of forests in Europe. Forest policy is defined as all the processes and structures that form and produce the relationships between societies and forests. It’s argued that, among other phenomena, policy-networks not only integrate more actors in political processes, but transform the relationships between societies and forests. In this sense we can observe (1) a trans-nationalization of theses relationships considering the participation of new actors, (2) a globalization referring to the frames of interpretation of problems which consequently effects the search for solutions and (3) a 'environmentalization' of these relationships in the sense that the importance of forests nowadays is rather seen in attempts to minimize possible risks. Considering this, all the phenomena linked to the so-called Europeanization allow to speak of a European forest policy.
Key words:
forest policy; Europe; policy-networks