Impacts of Nonstate, Market-Driven Governance on Chilean Forests
Impacts of nonstate, market-driven governance on Chilean forests Robert Heilmayra,1 and Eric F. Lambinb,c,d,1 aEmmett Interdisciplinary Program for Environment and Resources, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305; bGeorges Lemaître Centre for Earth and Climate Research, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; cSchool of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305; and dWoods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 Contributed by Eric F. Lambin, January 13, 2016 (sent for review August 10, 2015) Global markets for agricultural products, timber, and minerals are regimes may exceed the benefits for landowners, minimizing the po- critically important drivers of deforestation. The supply chains driving tential for large-scale conservation benefits (15). In addition, suppliers land use change may also provide opportunities to halt deforesta- may be able to circumvent environmental agreements by segmenting tion. Market campaigns, moratoria, and certification schemes have markets and shipping production that fails to meet environmental been promoted as powerful tools to achieve conservation goals. standards to consumers with weaker environmental concerns (16). Despite their promise, there have been few opportunities to rigor- Even if initially effective, corporate commitments to environmental ously quantify the ability of these nonstate, market-driven (NSMD) practices may wane as public attention turns elsewhere (17). governance regimes to deliver conservation outcomes. This study Such critiques highlight the importance of clear program eval- analyzes the impacts of three NSMD governance systems that sought uation to determine the effectiveness of NSMD governance re- to end the conversion of natural forests to plantations in Chile at the gimes.
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