Governance approaches in Swiss forest biodiversity policy: Do they really work?

New forms of governance are detected in the Swiss forest reserve policy, a policy in the field of forest biodiversity, and they have helped its implementation. A survey on the implementation status of the Swiss forest reserve concept in the cantons shows that (1) governance elements are clearly favored over traditional command-and-control regulations, (2) 6.6% of the Swiss forest area is delimited forest reserves, (3) large forest reserves are still missing in most of the cantons. Impeding factors can be a lack of conviction of the forest owners, a complicated ownership structure or the weak financial condition of a canton. Improvements may be achieved by increasing consultation and financial incentives or through a purchase of ecologically valuable areas by the Confederation and the cantons.