Local Consequences of Applying International Norms: Differences in the Application of Forest Certification in Northern Sweden, Northern Finland, and Northwest Russia

• Published in: Ecology and Society
• Main Authors: E. Carina H. Keskitalo, Camilla Sandström, Maria Tysiachniouk, Johanna Johansson
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Resilience Alliance 2009
• Subjects: adaptive capacity; Finland; forest certification; Russia; Sweden; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Ecology; QH540-549.5; Northern Finland; Northern Sweden; Northwest Russia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02893-140201; https://doaj.org/article/b6e110e83ada4e328e41664fcc30fa2c

Forest certification, developed in the early 1990s, is a process in which independent assessors grant use of the certification label to producers who meet certain environmental and social criteria set for their forest products. This label was quickly seen to offer a market advantage and to signal corporate social and environmental responsibility. This paper focuses on international norms pertaining to environmental and indigenous rights, as manifested in cases of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)- and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)-compatible certification, and how these norms have been applied domestically and perceived locally in different states. Case studies are drawn from northern Sweden, northern Finland, and three regions in northwest Russia. The studies illustrate that the choice and implementation of certification type depend considerably on national infrastructure and market characteristics and result in substantial differences in the impact that international norms have at the local level.