The preceding analysis suggests that a novel system of accountability has emerged in the area of global forest governance. We have argued that the transformation of accountability has been triggered by crisis and has progressed through three stages: first, the traditional state-based accountability system faced a major challenge in the light of an intensifying forest crisis and the failure of governments to react to the demands of citizens to halt deforestation and forest degradation. Second, as a result of changing actor strategies and relations, corporations moved to the forefront of the debate, both as a cause and a potential solution to the forest problem. Emerging patterns of market-based accountability, however, were criticized by non-governmental organizations and citizens on the grounds of inadequate accountability claims made by business actors. As a reaction to the accountability deficit of business-driven schemes and within the context of an increasingly paralyzed international negotiation process, a third stage has emerged: a cooperative private regime that combines market mechanisms with the credibility of civil society organizations. Whether the current cooperative accountability system of the FSC can evolve to become the dominant mode of accountability in forest governance remains to be seen.
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