Abstract:
In recent years increased interest in sustainable forest management initiatives has encouraged the development of market-based certification schemes, each with a different political economy. This paper examines the emergence of certification practices within four resource periphery contexts (Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand). Seen from the context of resource peripheries, certification is part of an emerging regime of production–consumption relationships, where political barriers to trade, production and investment are complemented by technical practices purportedly designed to codify wood and fibre quality. This paper argues that forest certification and ensuring standards represent a new basis of value creation and competition.