The abstract global ideas of sustainable development and of the rule of law meet in the forests of the tropics, where the absence of viable community forest management institutions is driving deforestation and, therefore, the larger legal and ecological stability of the region. This interaction needs to be better understood by rule of law theorists seeking to discover and implement proper legal structures for development.

The rule of law effort can be seen either narrowly, as a “thin” program focused on improving the mechanics of courts as well as legislative and administrative bodies, or as a “thick” conception rooted in the belief that such improvements will lead toward a stronger civil society and democracies rooted in the human rights tradition. Such improvements are assumed to be integral to sustainable development – the process of improving the welfare of poor nations without damaging their long-term ecological sustainability. The tools developed for use in the international rule of law effort can be usefully applied