The cause of divergences in policy objectives between governance levels: A policy design approach to Swiss regional nature parks

Using a policy design approach, this research note analyses the purpose of Swiss regional nature park policies through policy objectives. The policy objectives are extracted from the federal, cantonal and park legislative and regulatory documents, forming an extensive inventory. The objectives then have topics that are automatically attributed to them to allow for a direct comparison between and within the three governance levels. The aims of this article are twofold. Firstly, to produce and inventory of Swiss regional nature park policy objectives and their content. Secondly, to propose possible causes to why the divergences in the policy objectives between governance levels have been implemented. Policy objectives between the three governance levels diverge in topics. Using case study data to complement the comparative analysis, the divergences reveals two possible causes: (1) the parks create divergences to gain local acceptance, and (2) the divergences are easier to attain due to the term park.