Increasing concern over the environment in the past decade has incited new attempts at policy-making. International organisations and environmental NGOs play substantial roles. When Brazilian President Cardoso signed a decree in January 1996 allowing interested parties more leeway in filing injunctions against the demarcation of indigenous areas, he was attacked on all sides. National and international NGOs and the European Parliament protested, and requested that the World Bank, the European Union and the G7 take measures. As the environmental issues becomes more important in international politics, vested political and economic interests are threatened.

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.

'An important and timely book' from the Foreword by Stanley Johnson 'A complete and absorbing history of a decade of intense international politics offers many insights for future negotiators of sustainable solutions' Stephen Bass, International Institute for Environment and Development 'Skillfully navigates the jungle of forest politics, leaving us in no doubt that the verbal commitment to save the world's forests has yet to be translated into action on the ground. The way forward must clearly lie in political commitments and international cooperation if forests are to continue to preserve life on Earth' Francis Sullivan, World Wide Fund for Nature Global deforestation and its attendant processes - including soil degradation, climate change and the loss of biological diversity - emerged as international political issues during the 1980s, prompting politicians to seek consensus on programmes and policies for the conservation and sustainable management of forests. Yet global initiatives have been bedevilled by tensions between the North and South and between governments, industry, local communities and indigenous peoples. Meanwhile, rates of deforestation in the tropics are increasing, and international political efforts are demonstrably failing. Forest Politics carefully traces the evolution of international cooperation on forests, from the inception of the controversial International Tropical Timber Organization and the failed Tropical Forestry Action Programme in the mid-1980s, to the creation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests in the mid-1990s. The book also provides a detailed analysis of the negotiating stances of the parties involved in the divisive negotiations that rook place prior to the 1992 'Earth Summit' in Rio de Janeiro and the equally factious negotiations for the International Tropical Timber Agreement of 1994. It provides a fascinating insight into the nature of such processes, illustrating the difficulties that arise when concepts such as 'global commons' come into conflict with national sovereignty. Complete with annexes of important political documents, and making extensive use of primary source material and interviews with participants. Forest Politics presents case studies of all the major forest negotiations over the last 13 years. It is an essential reference point for policy makers, environmental campaigners and students, and required reading for all those who care about the future of the world's forests. David Humphreys is Research Fellow in Global Environmental Change at the Open University. Originally published in 1996

This collection of essays is the fruit of a special project within the General Research Programme of the Canadian Council on International Law. The volume constitutes the first comprehensive analysis of the status and treatment of forests as a subject of study in the field of international law. It is hoped that the publication and dissemination of these essays will stimulate not only further study and analysis, but also appropriate international and domestic policy initiatives that will contribute To The realization of a global forests convention. The common theme of the papers is the prospect of an International Forests Convention, but the diverse and complementary perspectives offered on this prominent dÉnouement of UNCED also contain useful general analyses independent of the UNCED agenda.

Global Environmental Politics provides a fully up to date and comprehensive introduction to the most important issues dominating this fast moving field. Going beyond the issue of climate change, the textbook also introduces students to the pressing issues of desertification, trade in hazardous waste, biodiversity protection, whaling, acid rain, ozone-depletion, water consumption, and over-fishing. . Importantly, the authors pay particular attention to the interactions between environmental politics and other governance issues, such as gender, trade, development, health, agriculture, and security.

For more than twenty years, Global Environmental Politics has provided an up-to-date, accurate, and unbiased introduction to the world's most pressing environmental issues. This new edition continues this tradition while covering critical new developments in the field. Through case studies on key issues such as climate change, toxic chemicals, and biodiversity loss, the authors detail the development of major environmental regimes. With new material on the adoption of global Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the December 2015 Paris Climate Change conference; and recent meetings of major conventions on desertification, biological diversity, and more; the authors present a comprehensive overview of contemporary international environmental politics. Global Environmental Politics is vital reading for any student wishing to understand the current state of the field and to make informed decisions about which policies might best safeguard our environment for the future.

Why care about the environment? Is the earth's climate really changing for the worse? What are CFCs exactly? And who or what is the WTO? What are the causes of environmental problems? Who are the main actors, and what are the main ideas and issues in international environmental politics? Which countries have the best/worst environmental record and policies? The International Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics is the essential reference source to enable all those with an interest in the politics of the environment - particularly students and academics working within political science - to answer these questions, and to explore many other related topics in international environmental politics. It will be welcomed as an essential teaching resource and a trusty companion to independent study. Written by a team of international experts, the Encyclopedia is vital for fact-checking, provides authoritative initial orientation to a particular topic or issue and will serve as a solid starting point for wider explanation. With over 300 fully cross-referenced entries, many of which are followed with suggestions for further reading, the Encyclopedia includes: * Country and regional entries, with country entries giving a concise overview of the history, main actors, issues and policies related to its environmental politics * Normative and ethical dimensions of environmental politics, from animal rights, social and global justice to deep ecology * Environmental movements, organizations, struggles and actors from local to international levels * Issues in international environmental politics such as global warming, biodiversity, trade and the environment * Prominent individuals (historical and current) who have inspired or been actively involved in international environmental politics - such as Mahatma Gandhi, Petra Kelly, Vandana Shiva and Aldo Leopold * Central topics and issues in environmental politics - such as global warming, globalization, wildlife preservation, eco-taxes, energy production and consumption, sustainable development and the World Trade Organisation

As the international community struggles with major issues such as deforestation, it is increasingly turning to sustainable development and market-based mechanisms to tackle environmental problems. Focusing on forestry, this book investigates the legitimacy of global forums and evaluates the quality of global governance in the current era.

Winner of the International Studies Association's Harold and Margaret Sprout Award 2008 for the best book on international environmental problems. This pioneering study examines the impacts of neoliberal global governance on forests and provides an exhaustive overview of international forest politics: Intergovernmental Panel on Forests World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development Intergovernmental Forum on Forests United Nations Forum on Forests Forest Certification New policies to address illegal logging World Bank's forests strategy Convention on Biological Diversity - and other international forest-related processes The book is an essential reference for students of global environmental politics and required reading for forest policy makers. It concludes by arguing for a democratization of global governance and a fundamental restructuring of the regulatory environment so that final decision making authority is restored to the local level. Driven by concern at what forest loss means for communities and future generations, this is a book that stands to make a difference.

The proliferation of environmental agreements is a defining feature of modern international relations that has attracted considerable academic attention. The cooperation literature focuses on stories of policy creation, and ignores issue areas where policy agreements are absent. Science and International Environmental Policy introduces nonregimes into the study of global governance, and compares successes with failures in the formation of environmental treaties. By exploring collective decisions not to cooperate, it explains why international institutions form but also why, when, and how they do not emerge. The book is a structured comparison of global policy responses to four ecological problems: deforestation, coral reefs degradation, ozone depletion, and acid rain. It explores the connection between knowledge and action in world politics by investigating the role of scientific information in environmental management. The study shows that different types of expert information play uneven roles in policymaking. Extensive analysis of multilateral scientific assessments, participatory observation of negotiations, and interviews with policymakers and scientists reveal that some kinds of information are critical requirements for policy creation while other types are less influential. Moreover, the state of knowledge on ecological problems is not a function of sociopolitical power. By disaggregating the concept of 'knowledge, ' the book solves contradictions in previous theoretical work and offers a compelling account of the interplay between knowledge, interests, and power in global environmental politics