infonet-economy

Global forest governance is generally analysed as highly fragmented, meaning that it involves a multiplicity of actors and institutions. However, some norms and discourses around global forest governance have gained more influence in the international arena. One major example is the REDD+ program implemented by the UN to reduce carbon emissions resulting from deforestation, with the end to fight climate change. This program is mainly focused on a market-based approach and a distributive conception of equity. Facing these new global pressures, community forestry organizations in the Mesoamerican region are seeking, through the creation of transnational networks, to promote alternative norms around their own model of governance. They are especially fighting for their right to participate in decision-making processes, as equal partners of both the UN and nation-states. Based on a transnational political sociology perspective and on discourse analysis, this paper aims to capture the mechanisms through which transnational community-based networks transform global norms of forest governance. The argument will be driven through an empirical case study of one particular actor, the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB). Three mechanisms will be analysed: the construction of a transnational identity around territorial authorities inside of the network, and the territorialisation of global forest governance arenas, through indigenous rights' prioritisation and the establishment of strategic alliances with decisive international actors. Finally, the major contribution of this paper is to question the traditional approaches of international relations, which overlook the capacity of community organizations to transform their own nature, and key global norms of governance.