Open Knowledge (FSC OK)

Forest governance may be defined as the way in which actions in a sector (here forest use) are controlled at multiple levels and by multiple actors. The forest certification market mechanism was introduced in 1993, partly as a reaction to the failed attempt to create a global forest convention at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Today FSC and the PEFC are the two dominant certification bodies in forestry. This paper exemplifies this novel area of market-based governance through a literature review, including articles published in the Web of Science between 1993 and 2013 on forest certification in countries with boreal forest The study highlights the differences between different countries and certification schemes, for example showing how different actors may choose different certification strategies, depending on market situation and forest ownership structure, and also how the outcomes of the implementation of novel certification practices may vary depending on country and broader governance context.