Forest Politics The Evolution of International Cooperation

'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

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Stanley Johnson
Introduction
1 Deforestation as a Global Political Issue
The Political Complexity of Deforestation
B The Causes of Deforestation
B The Effects of Deforestation
B The Emergence of Forest Conservation as an International Political Issue
B The Forest Conservation Problematic
2 The Tropical Forestry Action Programme
The Origins of the TFAP
The Organizational Structure of the TFAP at the International Level
B The Formulation and Evolution of a National Forestry Action Programme
W The 1990 Legitimacy Crisis
The TFAP Restructuring Process
3 The International Tropical Timber Organization
International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983
The Institutional Structure of the ITTO
The Financing of the ITTO
The History of the ITTO
B The International Relations of the ITTO
4 The Forest Negotiations of the UNCED Process
Proposals for a Global Forests Instrument
The Draft Global Forests Convention of the FAO
UNCED: an Introduction
Explaining North-South Disagreement During the UNCED Forest Negotiations
PrepCom 1, Nairobi, 6-31 Augilst 1990
PrepCom 2, Geneva, 18 March-5 April 1991
PrepCom 3, Geneva, 12 August4 September 1991
Environmental Diplomacy between PrepComs 3 and 4: Abidjan and Caracas
PrepCom 4, New York, 2 March-3 April 1992
Second Ministerial Meeting of Developing Countries, Kuala Lumpur, April 1992
UNCED, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992
Conclusions
The Negotiation of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994
The Preparatory Process
First Part of Conference, Geneva, 13-16 April 1993
Environmental Diplomacy between the First and Second Parts of the Conference
Second Part of Conference, Geneva, 21-25 June 1993
Environmental Diplomacy between the Second and Third Parts of the Conference
Third Part of Conference, Geneva, 4-15 October 1993
Fourth Part of Conference, Geneva, 10-26 January 1994
The North's Demand for a Global Forests Convention
An Analysis of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994
Concluding Remarks
The Global Politics of Forest Conservation Since the UNCED
Confidence-building Initiatives
The Criteria and Indicators Processes
The Third Session of the CSD: Creation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests
The World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development
Prospects for the Future
Conclusions
The Continuing Demand from the North for a Global Forests Convention
Explaining North-South Disagreement in Global Forest Politics
Contents
The Forest Conservation Problematic
Conclusions
Notes
Annex A: Possible Main Elements of an Instrument (Convention, Agreement, Protocol, Charter) for the Conservation and Development of the World's Forests
Annex B: Non-legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of all Types of Forests
Annex C: International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994
Annex D: Draft text for a Convention for the Conservation and Wise Use of Forests
Recommended Further Reading
Acronyms
Index