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Does Eco-certification Stem Tropical Deforestation? Forest Stewardship Council Certification in Mexico

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  • Blackman, Allen

    (Resources for the Future)

  • Goff, Leonard

    (Resources for the Future)

  • Planter, Marisol Rivera

Abstract

Since its creation more than two decades ago as a voluntary market-based approach to improving forest management, forest certification has proliferated rapidly in developing countries. Yet we know little about whether and under what conditions it affects deforestation. We use rich forest management unit-level panel data—including information on deforestation, certification, regulatory permitting, and geophysical and socioeconomic land characteristics—along with matched fixed effects models to identify the effect of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification on deforestation in Mexico, the country with the third-highest number of FSC certifications in the developing world. We test for a variety of different temporal and subgroup effects but are unable to reject the null hypothesis that certification does not affect deforestation. Although these results do not indicate that FSC certification has no effect on forest management, they do suggest that its impact on deforestation may be limited.

Suggested Citation

  • Blackman, Allen & Goff, Leonard & Planter, Marisol Rivera, 2015. "Does Eco-certification Stem Tropical Deforestation? Forest Stewardship Council Certification in Mexico," RFF Working Paper Series dp-15-36, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-15-36
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    Cited by:

    1. Rana, Pushpendra & Sills, Erin O., 2024. "Inviting oversight: Effects of forest certification on deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    2. Tritsch, Isabelle & Le Velly, Gwenolé & Mertens, Benoit & Meyfroidt, Patrick & Sannier, Christophe & Makak, Jean-Sylvestre & Houngbedji, Kenneth, 2020. "Do forest-management plans and FSC certification help avoid deforestation in the Congo Basin?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    3. Karsenty, Alain, 2019. "Certification of tropical forests: A private instrument of public interest? A focus on the Congo Basin," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Jung, Suhyun & Polasky, Stephen, 2018. "Partnerships to prevent deforestation in the Amazon," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 498-516.
    5. Yokessa, Maïmouna & Marette, Stéphan, 2019. "A Review of Eco-labels and their Economic Impact," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(1-2), pages 119-163, April.
    6. Leopoldo Fergusson & Santiago Saavedra & Juan F. Vargas, 2020. "The perils of misusing remote sensing data: The case of forest cover," Documentos de Trabajo 18152, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA).
    7. Rico-Straffon, Jimena & Wang, Zhenhua & Panlasigui, Stephanie & Loucks, Colby J. & Swenson, Jennifer & Pfaff, Alexander, 2023. "Forest concessions and eco-certifications in the Peruvian Amazon: Deforestation impacts of logging rights and logging restrictions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    8. Isabelle Chort & Berk Öktem, 2024. "Agricultural shocks, coping policies and deforestation: Evidence from the coffee leaf rust epidemic in Mexico," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(3), pages 1020-1057, May.
    9. Degnet, Mohammed B. & van der Werf, Edwin & Ingram, Verina & Wesseler, Justus, 2022. "Community perceptions: A comparative analysis of community participation in forest management: FSC-certified and non-certified plantations in Mozambique," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    10. Nordén, Anna & Coria, Jessica & Villalobos, Laura, 2016. "Evaluation of the Impact of Forest Certification on Environmental Outcomes in Sweden," Working Papers in Economics 657, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    11. Jimena Rico & Stephanie Panlasigui & Colby J. Loucks & Jennifer Swenson & Alexander Pfaff, 2017. "Logging concessions, certification and protected areas in the Peruvian Amazon: forest impacts from development rights and land-use restrictions," Working Papers 2017.22, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    12. Zubizarreta, Mikel & Arana-Landín, Germán & Wolff, Sarah & Egiluz, Ziortza, 2023. "Assessing the economic impacts of forest certification in Spain: A longitudinal study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    13. repec:lib:000cis:v:6:y:2018:i:1:p:20-51 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Garcia, Alberto & Heilmayr, Robert, 2024. "Impact evaluation with nonrepeatable outcomes: The case of forest conservation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    15. Cole, Matthew T. & Doremus, Jacqueline M. & Hamilton, Stephen F., 2021. "Import restrictions by eco-certification: Quantity effects on tropical timber production," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    16. Tannis Thorlakson, 2018. "A move beyond sustainability certification: The evolution of the chocolate industry's sustainable sourcing practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1653-1665, December.
    17. Ralf Buckley, 2023. "Sector-Scale Proliferation of CSR Quality Label Programs via Mimicry: The Rotkäppchen Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-11, July.
    18. Stefano Pagiola & Gunars Platais & Marcos Sossai, 2019. "Protecting Natural Water Infrastructure in Espírito Santo, Brazil," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(04), pages 1-24, October.
    19. Di Girolami, Erica & Kampen, Jarl & Arts, Bas, 2023. "Two systematic literature reviews of scientific research on the environmental impacts of forest certifications and community forest management at a global scale," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    20. Dolabella, Marcelo & Saeteros, Mario, 2024. "Friends or Foes? The Impact of Voluntary Sustainability Standards on Agricultural Exports of Developing Countries," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13764, Inter-American Development Bank.
    21. Nakaishi, Tomoaki & Chapman, Andrew, 2024. "Eco-labels as a communication and policy tool: A comprehensive review of academic literature and global label initiatives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    22. Cosimo, Luiz Henrique Elias & Masiero, Mauro & Mammadova, Aynur & Pettenella, Davide, 2024. "Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    23. Anderson, Christa M. & Asner, Gregory P. & Lambin, Eric F., 2019. "Lack of association between deforestation and either sustainability commitments or fines in private concessions in the Peruvian Amazon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 1-8.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    eco-label; certification; forest cover change; Mexico;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

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