Why is there no global legally binding agreement on forests? A qualitative literature review to identify conflicts within the negotiations and the way forward for sustainable forest management
The enhancement of global forest management practices was long thought to be subject to a binding agreement, comparable to other United Nations Conventions. Unlike other environmental challenges of similar importance, the countries of the world did not come together to establish a legally binding forest convention. More than 25 years since the start of the initial negotiations at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, four institutions and five non-binding agreements have been established to govern forests, none of which extends to similar lengths as the Framework Convention for Climate Change, Desertification, or Biodiversity. This paper investigates the conflicts present in the forest policy arena that have hindered the successful progression of a legally binding agreement. By conducting an extensive qualitative literature assessment of 51 peer-reviewed publications and building onto the policy arrangement approach by Arts, Leroy & Van Tatenhove (2006), the authors categorize and explain the conflicts present during and prevailing beyond the negotiations. The results are validated through expert interviews and observations from the 14th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). The authors identified 13 critical conflicts across the dimensions of ideology, interests, institutionalism, and coalition dynamics. While some conflicts have changed or were resolved, many persist today and will prevent a successful conclusion of the process. A legally binding agreement in the originally proposed form as overarching institution seems unlikely to happen in the future. Yet, the momentum surrounding sustainable forest management is greater than ever before, and a changing political culture raises new hopes for significant progress in the implementation of sustainable forestry beyond a mere agreement. Institutions like the UN FAO and the UNFF will play a crucial role in advancing the global transition to sustainable management in the future. Keywords: Policies, Conflict, Deforestation and forest degradation, Sustainable forest management, Research ID: 3617722
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| Format: | Document biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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FAO ;
2022
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| Online Access: | https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cc4419en http://www.fao.org/3/cc4419en/cc4419en.pdf |
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