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Forest commons are regarded as a means to support local development and sustainable forest conditions. To evaluate the development impact of Swedish forest commons, comparative surveys have been undertaken in three regions, and the differences in forest condition and management between categories of commons as well as their relation to other forest ownerships have been assessed. Regional differences between the by-laws, historical development and geographical conditions are apparent. It is concluded that two of three regions have an overly restrictive harvesting policy given the purpose of the forest commons and the official forest policy. The study results underline the importance of evaluation of the performance of forest management in relation to management objectives, to ownership alternatives and to the impact of local variations in preconditions.

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Abstract:In the period 1861-1918, thirty-three commons were established in Northern Sweden. This was linked to the finalisation of the Great Redistribution of Forest Holdings in Dalarna and the delimitation process in Västerbotten and Norrbotten. They were intended to serve as an instrument for improved and sustained forest production, the viability of farmers and the liveability of the rural communities in the areas where they were established. The aim of this paper is to describe the results of a study examining how three of these forest commons, one from each region, have benefitted the local shareholders and their community. The perceptions among forest common shareholders were assessed using a questionnaire. The study also assessed economic impact on shareholders in terms of extent and use of the dividend from each of the commons for the period 1958-2007, highlighting the extent of the economic support to individual shareholders and to the local community. Results reveal large differences between the three cases; there was a positive correlation between the extent of the economic support and contentment among the shareholders. Shareholder perceptions of individual and common benefits in Swedish 165Keywords: Community-based resource management, forest policy, resource governance Acknowledgement: We gratefully acknowledge the Brattås Foundation for their financial support for this study.

Research indicates that natural resources managed in common, resembling traditional commons such as the Swedish forest commons, could be a type of regime with the potential to stimulate successfully sustainable use conditions. This is supported by findings regarding the characteristics of Swedish forest commons, their claimed concern for the environment and relatively high proportion of old forest in two out of three regions. Swedish environmental policy is directed towards environmental quality objectives and the Sustainable Forests objective states, among other things, that biological diversity must be maintained and enhanced. Swedish National Forest Inventory data for the period 2003Á2006 were used to analyse differences between forest commons in northern Sweden and other ownership categories regarding the proportion of forestland with a large deciduous element, the proportion of forest older than 80 years with a large ( 25%) deciduous element, the volume of dead wood and the proportion of forest older than 140 years, parameters corresponding to the interim targets for enhanced biological diversity. The results show no consistent differences in indicator variables between the forest commons and other ownership categories, signifying that forests managed in common have been conducted in ways promoting biodiversity more effectively than in other ownership categories. Further studies of different ownership categories regarding driving forces and forest status are warranted.