The International Tropical Timber Agreements of 1983 and 1994: An Assessment on Treaty Effectiveness
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Date
2006-03-16
Authors
Stevenson, Erica
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
In the anarchical structure of international politics, relative treaty effectiveness
has proven to be a difficult task to accomplish concerning environmental issues. Not
only do the authors of these agreements face the challenge of negotiating a functional
structure of rules and regulations amongst diversified interests, but they are also
confronted with the undertakings of implementation and compliance. As each
environmental issue varies in scope and urgency, the number of actors, the kinds of
obligations, the type of monitoring, and their related responses fluctuate according to the
distinct individual situation. Because of this oscillation, evaluating the overall
effectiveness of these environmental treaties proves to be extremely complicated, as no
two treaties are the same. Theory on successful regimes, thus, can only be achieved
through the comparison of different agreements with similar treaty mechanisms.
Through this type of analysis, political scientists hope to develop an increasingly
comprehensive model for treaty effectiveness pertaining to environmental issues.
The International Tropical Timber Agreements of 1983 and 1994 were established
with the hopes of lowering the deforestation rate of tropical timber without encumbering
the market growth of developing member nations. This objective would be achieved
through forest conservation and management efforts that would produce a growing
market of timber from sustainably managed sources. After careful examination of these
two treaties, one can conclude that the 1983 and 1994 Tropical Timber Agreements were
both effective in altering m(,nber state behavior in the pursuance of decreased
deforestation levels and increased sustainability in timber products. While the increased
market transparency promoted in both agreements was successful in reducing member
exports of tropical timber, the Bali Fund, established in the successor agreement,
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encouraged the increased exportation of resources from only sustainably managed
resources by the year 2000 through enhanced financial assistance. Together, the two
International Tropical Timber Agreements gave consuming and producing parties strong
incentive to decrease the rate of tropical timber deforestation.
Description
Submitted to the Undergraduate Library Research Award scholarship competition: 2007. Awarded an honorable mention scholarship. 21, [6] p. Paper versions also available for check out or consultation in the University of Oregon's library under the call number: K3884 .S74 2006
Keywords
International Tropical Timber Agreement (1983), International Tropical Timber Agreement (1994), Timber -- International cooperation, Forests and forestry -- International cooperation