Nordic Forest Policy: Re-visiting Cross Border Cooperation

Recent years witnessed heightened interest of the Nordic countries and their forest policies amid global debates on accelerating reductions in greenhouse gases emissions while preserving biodiversity. Further momentum to understand the role of Nordic forests in this context also stems from the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and the COP28, which have once more ratcheted up commitments to halt and reverse climate change and biodiversity loss. This raises pertinent questions about today’s power dynamics and the future of the Euro-Arctic cooperation governing forests. Notably, puzzles remain between preserving the forest, further industrializing the forest, and overall meeting diverse societal goals and stakeholder needs. This study explores the concept of “Cross Border Cooperation” within the EU and Nordic framework and investigates its capacity to enhance effectiveness of Nordic Forest Policy in response to present and future challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. The article does so through an interdisciplinary framing in the social sciences and the case study analysis method, focusing on four cases: (a) the Euro-Arctic’s Cross Border Cooperation Initiative; (b) the forest-based Nordic circular bioeconomy; (c) Multifunctionality, strategic research and cooperation; and (d) cultural heritage law. The paper concludes with an outlook on the future implications of Cross Border Cooperation in Nordic Forest Policy.