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The forest issue in post-UNCED international negotiations: conflicting interests and fora for reconciliation

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Abstract

The article is concerned with the international deliberations for a follow-up mechanism of the UNCED Statement of Forest Principles. The forest issue is complicated by the different scientific approaches to the deforestation problem, as represented by climate change and biodiversity respectively. From the former perspective, reforestation may seem an adequate remedy to solve the problem, while from the latter, biodiversity, much more weight must be put on conservation and sustainable utilization. An additional complication is presented by the political divide between developing and industrialized countries concerning the approach to the problem of deforestation. The focus of the article is on the current three main international arenas in which the issue is being discussed: (i) addressing the forest issue within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, (ii) enlarging the scope of the International Agreement on Tropical Timber (ITTA) to include all types of forests, and (iii) pursuing the forest issue in a World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development. The feasibility of achieving agreement and effective implementation within the framework of the various options is the focal point of the discussion.

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This paper is a condensed and updated version of the FNI report: The Quest for a Global Forest Strategy: Barking up the Wrong Tree? (Rosendal, 1993). Parts of the material were presented at the International Symposium on Management of Rain Forest in Asia, organized in Norway in March 1994, by the University of Oslo.

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Rosendal, G.K. The forest issue in post-UNCED international negotiations: conflicting interests and fora for reconciliation. Biodivers Conserv 4, 91–107 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00115315

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