Introduction

This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part explores how forest industries, indigenous groups, and non-governmental organizations (NGO) are trying to join forces through the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in order to define standards for sustainable forestry and establish an authoritative labelling system that can earn the confidence of consumers across the world. It examines how the political and ethical cleavage between ‘whaling’ and ‘non-whaling’ countries has made constructive co-operation extremely difficult. The part shows that the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) has a useful, if more modest, function as a catalyst that encourages initiatives at the national level in the post-Rio process. The CSD was set up by the UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 to monitor follow-up to Agenda 21. New entries covering the FSC and the Global Legislators for a Balanced Environment have been added in the NGO section.