In recent years, a common theme in social science research, natural resource policies and practical management has been the increasing emphasis on partnerships and other forms of collaborative efforts as effective means to reach tangible and sustainable outcomes. Another significant trend is the increasing focus on the role of the forestry sector in managing the challenges of climate change, and the push towards a bio-based, low-carbon economy is at the epicenter of the public debate in several EU countries. Drawing on research on collaborative processes as well as research on policy design, this paper reviews the current trend to rely increasingly on collaborative efforts to improve sustainability, using forest governance in northern Europe as an illustrative case. It pays particular attention to efforts to balance concerned stakeholders through National Forest Programmes (NFPs), and considers these efforts in an international context. It concludes by elaborating on future research directions and policy recommendations that are critical to achieve intended outcomes in forest governance systems characterized by state-initiated collaborative processes as well as various forms of voluntary initiatives.

近年来，社会科学研究，自然资源政策和实践管理中的一个共同主题是，越来越重视伙伴关系和其他形式的合作努力，以此作为取得切实和可持续成果的有效手段。另一个重要趋势是，人们越来越关注林业部门在应对气候变化挑战中的作用，而向以生物为基础的低碳经济发展的推动力则是几个欧盟国家公开辩论的中心。本文以对合作过程的研究以及对政策设计的研究为基础，以北欧森林治理为例，回顾了当前趋势，该趋势越来越依靠合作努力来提高可持续性。它特别注意通过国家森林计划（NFP）平衡有关利益相关者的努力，并在国际范围内考虑这些努力。最后，通过详细阐述未来的研究方向和政策建议，这些方向和政策建议对于以国家启动的协作过程以及各种形式的自愿性计划为特征的森林治理体系中的预期成果至关重要。