Why Is There No International Forestry Law?: An Examination of International Forestry Regulation, both Public and Private

Abstract

This paper addresses the question posed in its title. The absence of a "third generation international environmental law" in the form of an interstate convention dealing with tropical and temperate deforestation, and mandating sustainable forestry practices, is not the result of a lack of effort. Rather, it is, I argue , inherent in the political economy and history of national forestry programs. These were originally devised to conserve timber through managed production, with little attention being paid to the other environmental services provided by forests. As a result, very strong domestic interests developed with great concern for continuing logging and little concern about the environment. It is this legacy, very different from that characterizing other "global commons" issues, that obstructs progress on a global forest convention. In lieu of such an agreement, there are a growing number of groups, organizations and companies offering various forms of environmental certification to timber companies. These are meant to operate through the market for timber products, on the assumption that environmentally-concerned consumers will choose the "greener" product. Eventually, goes the argument, the profit motive will move timber producers to be green and to manage their forests in a sustainable fashion. For the time being, this must be considered a hope rather than an outcome.