Cahiers Droit, Sciences & Technologies, n°12 
 Article on line, p. 77-96.

Julien Dellaux and Antoine Dolez
Summary: 
International forest law is based on a complex of instruments of varying nature and scope. Attempts to adopt an international convention have systematically failed because of strong political opposition between the countries of the North and those of the South. However, this branch of law is now materially based on a founding concept: "sustainable forest management" (SFM). This contribution assesses how, why and within what limits a consensus has been reached on this point. We will see that the concept of SFM is the fruit of a scientific-political construction in which expertise was quickly instrumentalised. Although it is based on the requirement for sustainability (born of the ecologisation of forestry science), it is enshrined as a vague concept enabling political positions to be reconciled (with economic interests being favoured). Its implementation is based on scientific criteria and indicators which, however, respond less to a desire for knowledge and protection of forest resources than to demands for transparency and performance, which have become the new neo-liberal dogmas of international environmental governance.