Market globalization and the globalization of environmental concerns have spurred demand for greater international accountability for forest stewardship. In response, a range of multi-lateral governmental and non-governmental initiatives have emerged to redefine the rules of global trade, and demand verification of the legality and/or sustainability of forest products originating from within and outside national boundaries.
At the same time there is a lack of transparency and shared understanding about the environmental forest policies that already exist within the world's leading forest producing and consuming countries. The result is that many stakeholders have developed perceptions about a country's regulatory environment that are not consistent with what is actually taking place. This book provides a uniquely detailed and systematic comparison of environmental forest policies and enforcement in twenty countries worldwide, covering developed, transition and developing economies. The goal is to enhance global policy learning and promote well-informed and precisely tuned policy solutions.
Part I: Setting the Scene
1. Introduction
2. Selection and Global Context of the Case Study Countries
Part II: Regional Analyses
3. Canada and the United States
4. Western Europe: Finland, Germany, Portugal and Sweden
5. Asia: China, India, Indonesia and Japan
6. Eastern Europe: Latvia, Poland and the Russian Federation
7. Latin America: Brazil, Chile and Mexico
8. Oceania: Australia and New Zealand
9. Africa: The Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa
Part III: Summary and Conclusions
10. Summary of Findings
11. Three Puzzles, a Conundrum, and a Question: Towards a Dynamic and Problem-Focused Policy Research Agenda
Constance McDermott is a James Martin Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests and the Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University. Benjamin Cashore is a Professor of Environmental Governance at Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, USA. Peter Kanowski is Professor of Forestry at the Australian National University, where he is also Deputy Director of the new Fenner School of Environment and Society.