Schepers, Donald H.2019-09-252019-09-252010-02-252008http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/173928The Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global private governance system overseeing the sustainability of the world forestry system through certification of forests and forestry products. It has seen more prominence in developed than developing countries in terms of amount of forest certified and number of Chain of Custody certificates issued. Though its governance system appears strong, the FSC itself exhibits an economic bias toward developed nations. A number of challenges have arisen to test the legitimacy of the FSC as a private governance system: alternative certification schemes, output and market access, cost of certification, plantations, and illegal logging. In this paper, I review private governance, and then examine the FSC, its challenges, and make recommendations for future development.engWith permission of the license/copyright holderforestsustainable developmentGood governanceEconomic ethicsEnvironmental ethicsTrade ethicsResources ethicsPreprint