Title
Using Forest Certification to Strengthen Rural Communities: Cases from Northwest Russia
Files
Description
Published as Chapter 7 in Endangered Species and Forests: Legal Perspectives, A Usha, ed.
The rapid globalization of forest products markets has placed many rural forest-based communities under considerable pressure to rapidly exploit forest resources. To counter, transnational environmental organizations have promoted programs for forest certification, seeking to use global market forces to support environmentally and socially responsible forest management. This paper reports the impacts of the Forest Stewardship Council certification program on four rural communities in northwestern Russia. Drawing on network analysis, community studies methods and the concept of "social imaginaries", it finds that several variables can maximize positive outcomes for local communities. The most important variable is the degree of involvement by globally networked environmental organizations. Also important are the commitment of forest enterprises to certification, pre-Perestroika social structures in local communities, and local expectations about possible reactions of European consumers.
Publication Date
2007
Publisher
Amicus Books
City
Punjiagottai
ISBN
9788131413715
First Page
159
Last Page
183
Keywords
Civil Society, Community, Ecolabels, Environmental Policy, Forestry, Governance, Green Markets, Institutionalization, Network Analysis, Nongovernmental Organizations, Social Imaginary, Sustainability
Disciplines
Environmental Law | Forest Management | Forest Sciences
Recommended Citation
Errol E. Meidinger, Using Forest Certification to Strengthen Rural Communities: Cases from Northwest Russia, in Endangered Species and Forests: Legal Perspectives 159 (A Usha, ed., Amicus Books 2007).