Public policy for forestry development in Costa Rica: pending challenges
Abstract
This article discusses the introduction of forestry develop ment in the public policies agenda that led to the creation of the current Forestry Law in Costa Rica, as well as the design stage of the National Forestry Development Plan (PNDF) 2001-2010. Most significant findings include the diversity of actors involved in these processes, the lack of coordination in the Plan’s design stage and the gap between the Law, the Law’s Regulations and the PNDF. All to gether leads to the conclusion that, instead of a robust public policy on forestry, the effective outcome was a set of poorly articulated “sectoral plans”, and the absence of a govern ing body able to manage the implementation problems. The article closes with an analysis of some of the 2011-2020 PNDF evaluation findings, which confirm the persistence of challenges related to the design stage.
