(introduction...)

As mentioned earlier, governments are finding it difficult to provide a regulatory function in a global economy. The declining desire and capacity of the state to regulate, police and enforce is illustrated well in the case of deforestation. Against a history of land disputes and illegal logging, in 1997 both the Brazilian and Venezuelan governments announced that they would privatize forests in order to conserve them. The assumption is that major international corporations have greater resources than governments to police forest management in their concessions. There are concerns that the governments may not be able to regulate such companies effectively. It seems likely that the “regulatory” power of NGOs will be required to ensure that forests are not being managed irresponsibly.

In this section of the paper, we consider the role of governments in civil regulation and the need for supportive policy frameworks at the national and international levels.