Review
Food Science & Technology
Eva-Marie Meemken, Christopher B. Barrett, Hope C. Michelson, Matin Qaim, Thomas Reardon, Jorge Sellare
Summary: Sustainability standards have varying effects on different supply chain actors and crops, but are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability and equity objectives in agrifood supply chains. The ongoing proliferation of certification schemes in the food sector calls for continuous evaluation of their impacts.
Article
Ecology
Hamish van der Ven, Yixian Sun, Benjamin Cashore
Summary: This introduction discusses the issue of sustainable commodity governance and the Global South, highlighting how initiatives are predominantly led by organizations from the Global North. It emphasizes the importance of Southern actors in shaping sustainable commodity production and the ongoing debate in ecological economics on global value chains and the need for a possible restructuring of the global economy.
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
(2021)
Article
Fisheries
Choyon Kumar Saha
Summary: This study explores the extent to which sociocultural principles are included in aquaculture certification standards and finds that current standards focus more on health and well-being issues while neglecting ethical practices and issues affecting indigenous peoples and local communities. The study also compares several certification standards and concludes that some standards are weaker in addressing sociocultural sustainability. The exclusion and lack of attention to crucial sociocultural issues in certification standards can potentially undermine the goal of ensuring sociocultural sustainability in aquaculture.
Article
Law
Hamish van der Ven
Summary: This study examines the influence of sponsorship structure on stakeholder engagement in voluntary sustainability standard setters. Analysis of stakeholder comments from six standard setters reveals that industry-sponsored standards attract more industry input, while multistakeholder initiatives tend to over-represent legacy stakeholders. The study also finds that sponsorship is not a good predictor of influential comments, as comments seeking to weaken or clarify standards are more likely to exert influence regardless of the sponsorship.
REGULATION & GOVERNANCE
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Minette Nago, Symphorien Ongolo
Summary: The paper examines the reasons behind the recurrent failures of Congo Basin countries (CBc) within forest diplomacy, finding that lack of strategic and bureaucratic autonomy and dependence on resources from Western cooperation agencies are major contributing factors. Furthermore, it highlights how key actor groups exploit these failures for their private interests while avoiding responsibility in reducing deforestation and biodiversity loss in the Congo Basin.
Article
Environmental Studies
Choyon Kumar Saha
Summary: This study chronicles the emergence and evolution of aquaculture certification schemes and highlights the influence of markets, politics, and ideas. It provides important insights into resolving confusion and duplication of certification schemes.
Review
Economics
Parag Kadam, Puneet Dwivedi, Caroline Karnatz
Summary: The study compared the trends in changes of two Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) systems, protocols and certification, over two consecutive periods from 1995-2005 and 2005-2015. It found that forest certification has become more market-driven, while protocols are driven by multi-stakeholder groups, with ITTO being more proactive in changing criteria and indicators. The conclusion suggests that considering socioeconomic institutional elements is important for trends and developments in global forest management standardization.
FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Liviu Nichiforel, Gabriel Duduman, Ramona Elena Scriban, Bogdan Popa, Ionut Barnoaiea, Marian Dragoi
Summary: The study reveals that in Romania, forest ecosystem services are mainly delivered through forest management plans, with some influence from the integration with the Natura 2000 network and forest certification system. However, there are elusive and precautionary terms in the management plans, adding administrative costs for forest owners.
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Economics & Policy
Charline Depoorter, Axel Marx
Summary: The institutionalization of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) is considered to drive their adoption, but the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has experienced stagnation in adoption recently. By analyzing the global and country-level adoption of FSC certification over a 20-year period, we find that the global stagnation hides different dynamics at the country level. Factors such as government role and competition with other VSS play important roles in driving these dynamics.
APPLIED ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES AND POLICY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Claudia Parra-Paitan, Erasmus K. H. J. Zu Ermgassen, Patrick Meyfroidt, Peter H. Verburg
Summary: The production and trade of agricultural commodities, such as cocoa, have significant impacts on farmers and the environment. However, there is a lack of cross-country data on the identity and market share of trading companies involved in these commodities. This study addresses this gap by compiling detailed shipping data from eight cocoa-exporting countries and assessing the adoption of sustainability commitments by traders. The findings reveal a highly concentrated market, with a low overall adoption of sustainability commitments and barriers such as limited traceability and transparency.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2023)
Review
Economics
Erica Di Girolami, Jarl Kampen, Bas Arts
Summary: Forest certifications and community forest management are important forest governance interventions aimed at reversing forest degradation and deforestation while providing socio-economic benefits. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence on their long- and short-term environmental impacts, as well as the governance mechanisms and contextual factors that facilitate positive impacts. Current research also highlights evidence gaps in terms of impacts on fauna and ecosystem services.
FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS
(2023)
Article
Development Studies
Karla Rubio-Jovel, Jorge Sellare, Yannic Damm, Thomas Dietz
Summary: This article assesses the contribution of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) through a case study from the coffee sector in Costa Rica. The study finds that relying solely on VSS is not sufficient to promote a transition to more sustainable coffee production, as trade-offs between different SDGs emerge. Modifications in implementation are required to promote sustainable practices and ensure socio-economic benefits for producers, workers, and their families.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Timothy Cadman, Tek Maraseni, Upama Ashish Koju, Anita Shrestha, Sikha Karki
Summary: This paper investigates forest management and sustainability issues in Nepal, focusing on the governance of the community forest user group initiative. It provides a literature review on the historical and current situation of forest governance in Nepal, explores the impacts of unsustainable logging and the World Bank Report, and analyzes stakeholder attitudes. It also presents a case study on applying sustainability standards in protecting Nepal's Red Panda while promoting sustainable forest management and community development.
Article
Environmental Studies
Shuo Hu, Min Wang, Mingxuan Wu, Ailun Wang
Summary: Voluntary environmental regulations, particularly ISO14001 certification, have a positive impact on both the quantity and quality of green innovation. The study used data from Chinese companies between 2008 and 2020 and employed various statistical methods to ensure accurate estimation of the effects. The findings remained consistent even after accounting for potential biases and considering the influence of greenwashing and ownership.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Florin Halalisan, Claudia Romero, Bogdan Popa, German Arana Landin, Nicolae Talpa, Ioan Vasile Abrudan
Summary: Forest management certification is an important initiative to incentivise improvement of forest management, and it relies on auditing and accreditation to assess conformance with standards and promote improvements. This study examines the findings raised against Certification Bodies (CABs) during accreditation evaluations of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management certification. The results indicate the effectiveness of accreditation activities in capturing essential audit-related failures and improving the practice of forest management auditing.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hallie Eakin, Nadine Methner, Gina Ziervogel
Summary: There is a growing need to involve private actors in public adaptation in urban systems. Urban administrators have limited control over urban dynamics, and the actions of private actors have a significant influence. A conceptual framework combining cognitive and behavioral theory, institutional analysis, adaptive capacity, and research on urban adaptation governance is used to understand the potential for private provisioning. The case of Cape Town's response to drought illustrates the complex interactions that shape private actors' willingness to engage in public-oriented adaptation.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2024)