This paper analyses the development of certification programmes in three countries (Indonesia, Canada and Sweden) using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) as a theoretical reference point. The ACF is an actor-based framework for analysing policy processes and has not previously been applied in a developing country. Actors in the three countries took different approaches to certification. In Canada, in a programme development process supported by the forest products industry, a management systems approach was taken. In Sweden, performance standards were developed in a process initially driven by NGOs. In Indonesia, certification was led by an NGO within a framework established by government, and a performance standards approach was used. The paper concludes that forest certification can be best understood as a policy instrument that promotes and facilitates policy-orientated learning among actors, and provides indirect incentives for improved forest management. Learning occurs both as the standards to be used for certification are developed, and as they are implemented. The benefits of learning and consensus building among actors (such as NGOs, forest companies, private forest owners, indigenous peoples, governments, etc.) who have traditionally been in conflict with each other can be significant. On the other hand, where fundamental changes in forest policy (such as tenure and forest revenue reform) are needed, certification should not be seen as a substitute for these A further conclusion is that, while public policies change over periods of decades, the private policies of retailers and forest product companies can adapt more rapidly to changing circumstances. The concept of a ‘fast track’ of private policy change, compared to the slower track of governmental policy change, is therefore proposed and described. A number of interesting theoretical and empirical avenues for further research on certification are discussed.

In this important book, Lawrence Sager, a leading constitutional theorist, offers a lucid understanding and compelling defence of American constitutional practice. Sager treats judges as active partners in the enterprise of securing the fundamentals of political justice, and sees the process of constitutional adjudication as a promising and distinctly democratic addition to that enterprise. But his embrace of the constitutional judiciary is not unqualified. Judges in Sager's view should and do stop short of enforcing the whole of the Constitution; and the Supreme Court should welcome rather than condemn the efforts of Congress to pick up the slack. Among the surprising fruit of this justice-seeking account of American constitutional practice are a persuasive case for the constitutional right to secure a materially decent life and sympathy for the obduracy of the Constitution to amendment. No book can end debate in this conceptually tumultuous area; but Justice in Plainclothes is likely to help shape the ongoing debate for years to come.

Handbook on Forest Certification, a thorough research work, discusses in detail the concepts and approaches required to meet the desired international standards of forest certification. It covers those aspects of forest certification that are practised globally and need to be applied in the emerging context of forests in India. The book focuses on changing global perspective on forest resources, importance and need for sustainable management of forests, increasing consumer awareness, and dealing with preferences for certified forest products. Drawing on a wealth of information provided by valuable studies across the globe, this book discusses sustainable forest management and forest certification and their impact on conservation and development of biodiversity. It is a comprehensive and detailed guide for forest managers, forest owners, practitioners, forest-based industries, academicians, students and researchers, consultants, and policy makers for the forestry sector in India and South Asia. Key features: • Discusses status of forest resources as well as sustainability and forestry • Explains essentials of forest certification and process and forest certification schemes • Dwells on the extent of forest certification and certified timber market and certification of non-timber forest products • Presents framework for forest certification in India • Assesses challenges and potentials of forest certification Contents: 1. Status of Forest Resources: World and India 2. Sustainability and Forestry 3. Management of Forests in India: A Historical Perspective 4. Essentials of Forest Certification: Concept, Evolution, Elements, and Process 5. Forest Certification Schemes 6. Extent of Forest Certification and Certified Timber Market 7. Certification of Non-timber Forest Products 8. Framework for Forest Certification in India 9. Stakeholder Expectations and Economics of Forest Certification 10. Sustainability and Forest Certification 11. Challenges and Potential of Forest certification References Index About the Author

Provides a global analysis of policies to address deforestation, an important driver of climate change.

Annotation. There is currently great concern about the sustainability of forestry and the contribution of private forestry towards this aim. The need to better understand the impact of different policy choices on private forestry has never been more important. This book includes a selection of peer-reviewed papers from a conference held in Atlanta in March 2001.

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.

The often-claimed environmental and social benefits of forest certification remain to be empirically evaluated. Despite numerous publications on the impacts of tropical forest certification, virtually all are based on secondary sources of information and not on field-based measurements. This paper proposes an empirical research framework for a carefully designed field-based evaluation of the ecological, social, economic, and political impacts of tropical forest management certification taking into account location-specific contextual factors which shape certification outcomes. The paper also suggests that solid methodological quantitative and qualitative approaches be used to build proper counterfactuals on which to base the comparisons for inferring impacts, all informed by a thorough theory-of-change and through processes that bring stakeholders together. The proposed research framework represents a first step towards the design and future implementation of evaluation research in the context of tropical forest certification on a global basis. It is hoped the research framework proposed contributes to learning from past mistakes, building on lessons learned and enhancing decision-making towards the maintenance of forest values over the long term, and for the benefit of society as a whole.