The New Environmental Law: Forest Certification

This paper argues that the rapidly expanding practice of forest certification, together with similar developments in other sectors, is creating a new template for environmental law. Nongovernmental organizations and some industry actors are establishing binding regulatory standards, systems for monitoring compliance, sanctions for non-compliance, and, when things work well, methods for assessment and revision. It locates these developments as a part of “phase 3” of environmental law, which also involves a proliferation of other initiatives beyond traditional regulation. Finally, it offers a preliminary discussion of the efficacy, adaptability, coherence, and legitimacy of the emergent system.