Winner of the International Studies Association's Harold and Margaret Sprout Award 2008 for the best book on international environmental problems.

This pioneering study examines the impacts of neoliberal global governance on forests and provides an exhaustive overview of international forest politics:

Intergovernmental Panel on Forests

World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development

Intergovernmental Forum on Forests

United Nations Forum on Forests

Forest Certification

New policies to address illegal logging

World Bank's forests strategy

Convention on Biological Diversity - and other international forest-related processes

The book is an essential reference for students of global environmental politics and required reading for forest policy makers. It concludes by arguing for a democratization of global governance and a fundamental restructuring of the regulatory environment so that final decision making authority is restored to the local level. Driven by concern at what forest loss means for communities and future generations, this is a book that stands to make a difference.