The Forest Stewardship Council: Private Governance in Brazil and Russia

Abstract

NGOs from Brazil and Russia participate in the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a global private governance initiative that promotes sustainable forestry using certification and labeling, contributing to increases in certified forest territory and certified companies in both more democratic Brazil and less democratic Russia. The chapter argues that while Brazilian NGOs participate in FSC more robustly at the national and international levels, FSC has been a more consequential site for mediation in Russia. It argues that differences in Russian and Brazilian NGO engagement with FSC are linked in part to the timing of global governance intervention. Brazilian NGOs achieved some policy goals during earlier efforts to save the Amazon rainforest, while in Russia NGOs leveraged the FSC at a crucial moment following post-Soviet market reforms when forestry companies sought export markets.