A Law and Economics Analysis of Policy Instruments to Prevent Deforestation and Forest Degradation in the Tropics

This research focuses on the tropical deforestation causes and in particular on the global palm oil industry. Under the global forest multilevel governance framework, the research examines current policy practice and its incentives with insights from law and economic theories and policy instrument choice theory. The policy measures examined include a wide range of public, private and hybrid mechanisms, such as certification schemes, legality systems, command-and-control regulations, carbon mechanisms, import restrictions and more. It concludes with providing integrated normative recommendations, i.e. the jurisdictional policy mix approaches with theoretical relevance and detailed stakeholder buy-in mechanisms.