Video: How does our consumption impact forests?

on June 3, 2025

We’re living in a time of growing environmental urgency, and protecting the world’s forests has never been more critical. Rainforests like the Amazon and the Congo Basin play a key role in fighting climate change by storing vast amounts of carbon and supporting incredible biodiversity. Yet these vital ecosystems are under threat—driven by global demand for commodities like soy, beef, and timber. What we consume in Europe often has hidden links to deforestation in distant regions.

Using the case of soy imports from Brazil, this video highlights the complex connections between international regulations, global trade, and biodiversity loss. The CLEVER project provides research to support transformative change by helping shape fairer, more effective policies for forest protection. Watch the video below to better understand the role we all play in protecting our planet’s forests.

Navigating the EUDR: timber trade in the Congo Basin

on May 13, 2025

As the timber sector in the Congo Basin prepares for the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), affected stakeholders have voiced their opinions about the opportunities, challenges, and needs the regulation creates. The EUDR will come into effect at the end of 2025, from which point businesses wishing to place products containing a relevant commodity[1], such as timber, onto the EU market will need to demonstrate that the commodity is legally sourced and not linked to destruction of forests at any point in the supply chain. With this requirement, the EUDR aims to ensure that EU sales of products containing timber do not lead to forest destruction in countries like Cameroon and Gabon, where timber is grown. Demonstrating that timber meets this requirement will require significant effort that will impact stakeholders throughout timber supply chains.

In October 2024, some of the business, policy, academic and NGO stakeholders from the timber sector in Cameroon and Gabon came together to describe the impact the EUDR is already starting to have, and the risks and opportunities they expect the regulation to create. Cameroon and Gabon lie in the Congo Basin, which is an important case study for the EUDR. The basin’s forests are critical for climate regulation, and the world’s second largest rainforest is an important hotspot for biodiversity. Like most rainforests, the Congo Basin faces increasing pressure from timber extraction and commodity production and trade, which are vital sectors supporting economic development. The following four key themes emerged from the stakeholder discussions.

Uneven business readiness for the EUDR

There isa clear divide in timber supply chains between large (often European-owned) companies with established certification systems and smaller, locally owned businesses with limited resources and capacity. Many larger companies view the EUDR as a manageable opportunity because they already have systems in place that will help them comply. By contrast, many smaller operators expect the extra administrative work to be a significant challenge. Some are considering shifting their exports to less regulated markets, while others are exploring partnerships with bigger companies to help them navigate the new requirements.

The EUDR is already reshaping timber supply chains

The EU remains the most profitable market for timber exporters in the Congo Basin, but it presents heightened barriers to entry. Asian markets are easier to access but offer lower prices. Meanwhile, a growing inter-African timber market is opening up new trade opportunities that could help retain economic value within the region. Since exporters have access to non-EU markets, some stakeholders were concerned that a “two-tier” system could develop that would undermine the forest-protecting aim of the EUDR. In one tier, timber that is demonstrably not linked to forest destruction would be exported to the EU, while in the other tier, timber that is linked to forest destruction would be exported elsewhere. In this scenario, known as market segregation, the EUDR may not significantly reduce forest destruction but could mainly influence where timber is sold.

Barriers to compliance and enforcement

Stakeholders in Cameroon and Gabon identified multiple barriers to complying with and enforcing the EUDR. One challenge for compliance is that every timber product placed on the EU market must be fully traceable – from the exact harvesting plot, through any processing, to the final product – to prove it is not linked to forest destruction. Another challenge can be bureaucratic delays in obtaining the harvest and trade permits, which are needed to prove the timber was legally harvested in the country of origin.

Enforcement of the EUDR could be limited by the capacities of governments and institutions in producer countries like Cameroon and Gabon. Another significant risk stakeholders identified was “commodity laundering”, whereby illegal timber could be processed in a third country before being placed on the EU market as a final product, thereby evading the EUDR restrictions. This is because, while raw materials are easier to trace and label, there is often minimum information on them embedded on the final products that utilize them—the example of imported wooden furniture from East Asia was used, where the country of manufacture is known, but the origin of the timber in it is not. This opens a window for non-compliant timber to be diverted into other markets, and ultimately enter the European market as a finalised product.

Building capacity for the EUDR can deliver benefits for all parties

The timber supply chain stakeholders in Cameroon and Gabon feel burdened by the administrative requirements of the EUDR, which is being implemented with limited consultation to date, and will face challenges if they want to comply. However, actors across the board believe that with appropriate resources and the right incentives and support mechanisms in place, both the public and private sector stakeholders could overcome these challenges.

The EUDR provides an opportunity to enable sustainable forest governance that can support economic development in the Congo Basin. However, realizing this potential will require the EU and EU-based companies to provide resources and assistance to producer countries to facilitate implementation. EU actors with leverage and resources must proactively provide incentives and support mechanisms. There is a particular need for targeted technical and financial support for small and medium enterprises to build capacity in sustainable forest management. The promise of higher EU market prices provides an incentive, but without special attention, smaller enterprises may become marginalized and be unable to comply with the requirements of the EUDR. For government regulators and monitoring agencies in producer countries, increased resources and capacity to oversee forest management would enable environmental and economic benefits to be realized through better protection and management of natural resources while also making it easier for actors across the supply chain to meet their legal obligations. Additionally, EU policymakers will need to address concerns about weak enforcement capacity and potential commodity laundering through third countries to prevent undermining the EUDR’s effectiveness and further disadvantaging compliant operators.

Authors (alphabetical): Louis Brijmohun[2], Heli Sihvonen[3]and Juan Manuel Vargas[4]

Reviewers (alphabetical): Scilla Alecci[5], Alok Jha[6], Madeleine Ngeunga[7], Vinicius Sassine[8], and Rina Tsubaki[9]

[1] The EUDR applies to cattle, coffee, cocoa, palm oil, rubber, soy, and timber, and any products containing any of these commodities.

[2] The United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)

[3] The United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)

[4] The United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)

[5] International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)

[6] The Economist

[7] Pulitzer Center

[8] Folha de S.Paulo

[9] European Forest Institute

The EUDR may have little impact on reducing deforestation

on May 13, 2025

What’s on your plate and in your house might be quietly clearing forests in the Amazon and the Congo Basin. The production of internationally traded agricultural and forest commodities is responsible for more than half of the global loss of forests and natural vegetation every year. To help reduce deforestation associated with the import of these products into the EU, the European Parliament passed the EU Deforestation Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) in 2022. Set to take full effect by the end of 2025, the EUDR obliges all importers of soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, beef, forest products, and rubber – known as forest risk commodities – to provide proof that the production was legal according to national legislation in the producer country and not associated with any deforestation. However, new research based on expert assessments has raised doubts about whether the EUDR can effectively reduce or even slow down global forest loss:

First, in many producer countries, such as Brazil and Cameroon, the EU holds a relatively small market share of forest risk commodities. This means the vast areas heavily impacted by commodity production may not be addressed by the EUDR at all. At the same time, importers will then often be able to meet EU demand by buying from producers who do not engage in deforestation or from regions with a low deforestation risk, either within the same country or in other producer countries. Unless other major importing regions, such as China and the US, adopt similar policies, the EUDR alone would be likely to have little to no impact on reducing forest loss.

Second, the EUDR could weaken political support for existing domestic policies in producer countries that have effectively reduced deforestation caused by forest-risk commodity production. This has been observed, for example, in the case of Brazil’s Amazon Soy Moratorium, which has lost crucial political backing from certain national agro-industry and state-level administrations. Inconsistencies between specific rules of the EUDR and the Moratorium provided opponents with new arguments to renegotiate the existing set of rules.

Third, the EUDR imposes additional reporting obligations on many actors along forest risk commodity value chains, including those with limited resources like small landowners. The associated costs could disproportionately hurt small producers, processing companies, and logistics providers.

EU lawmakers must closely monitor whether the EUDR will make any tangible contribution to reducing the loss of tropical forests. Otherwise, companies can hide the deforestation footprint by simply rerouting imports through another country or region before they reach the EU. At the same time, researchers and policymakers must find more affordable and viable ways to reduce the negative environmental impacts of trade in agricultural and forest commodities, without harming vulnerable businesses in the producing countries. This could, for example, involve taxes on deforestation-linked commodities. The funds raised through the tax in the EU could be reinvested in producer countries to help protect and restore natural ecosystems and biodiversity.

Authors: Jan Börner[1]

Reviewers (alphabetical): Scilla Alecci[2], Laila Berning[3], Mathias Cramm[4], Alok Jha[5], Madeleine Ngeunga[6], Vinicius Sassine[7], and Rina Tsubaki[8]

References:

[1] University of Bonn

[2] International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)

[3] University of Freiburg

[4] European Forest Institute

[5] The Economist

[6] Pulitzer Center

[7] Folha de S.Paulo

[8] European Forest Institute

A mission to the Congo Basin: Stakeholder co-design workshops in Cameroon and Gabon

on November 29, 2024

The workshop group in Yaoundé. Photo credit: Dominique Tessa.

The Central African region is home to approximately 80% of Africa’s biodiversity¹. Forestry is a significant contributor to the national gross domestic product of these countries. Despite progress in regulating logging and promoting sustainable resource management^2,3, timber value chains in the region continue to face multiple challenges—ranging from technical and political complexities to issues of transparency and unsustainable practices^4,5.

The UNEP-WCMC team travelled to Yaoundé (Cameroon) and Libreville (Gabon) in October 2024 to work with local partners in two workshops for the Horizon Europe Projects CLEVER and RAINFOREST. The broad objective of these workshops was to contribute to a better understanding of how legality and sustainability can be strengthened along timber value chains in Cameroon and Gabon.

Traveling from the West Coast of Cameroon to the capital Yaoundé, the view of the Congo Basin rainforest through the bus window was striking, as was the sight of logs loaded onto trucks and the long line of vehicles waiting at the port. This direct experience underscored the importance of moving beyond desktop research to engage with local partners to really understand and incorporate on-the-ground realities.

Photo credits: Left (Agenda): Dominique Tessa. Right (Group work): Heli Sihvonen.

Our approach was to engage directly with stakeholders, creating an opportunity for co-design with those most affected by legislation such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). We invited stakeholders from ministries, industry, NGOs and research institutions to participate in an open discussion about solutions for deforestation and forest degradation. The goal was to collaboratively validate, shape, and inform our research and project outputs.

Coming from a very different background, it was valuable to hear and incorporate local perspectives. Participants demonstrated a deep understanding of the local context —highlighting incentives, disincentives, challenges, and potential solutions. The discussions revealed that many environmental and economic challenges are surprisingly universal, including issues related to financial incentives and supply chain complexities.

The UNEP-WCMC CLEVER team is leading the development of an innovative public and private governance toolkit, and these workshops were crucial for gathering insights. A key finding was that stakeholders generally prefer improving existing solutions over creating entirely new approaches. Participants from both workshops recommended enhancing established traceability and certification schemes and aligning them more closely with forestry legislation.

Our key takeaway was that innovative governance solutions can be effective not just through their design, but also through their communication, application, and enforcement. Importantly, innovative solutions do not necessarily need to be complex or overly nuanced.

The workshops were made possible through the support of CLEVER partners —the European Forest Institute (EFI), the University of Dschang, and our local host, FSC Gabon. We extend our sincere thanks for their hard work and local expertise, which were instrumental in making these workshops invaluable. CLEVER is funded by the European Union and UK Research and Innovation, UKRI (UNEP-WCMC’s share) and coordinated by the University of Bonn. We acknowledge the contribution of the EU Horizon project RAINFOREST to the workshops.

By Heli Sihvonen and Juan Manuel Vargas, UNEP-WCMC

Cover photo credit: Dominique Tessa

Literature:

¹ P. Mayaux, J.F. Pekel, B. Desclée, F. Donnay, A. Lupi, F. Achard, M. Clerici, C. Bodart, A. Brink, R. Nasi, A. Belward, State and evolution of the African rainforests between 1990 and 2010, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 368 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0300.
2 R. Eba’a Atyi, S. Assembe-Mvondo, G. Lescuyer, P. Cerutti, Impacts of international timber procurement policies on Central Africa’s forestry sector: the case of Cameroon, For. Policy Econ. 32 (2013) 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2012.12.006.
3 African Development Bank, Rapport stratégique régional – Développement intégré et durable de la filière bois dans le bassin du Congo: opportunités, défis et recommandations opérationnelles, 2019. https://www.afdb.org/fr/documents/document/rapport-strategique-regional-developpement-integre-et-durable-de-la-filiere-bois-dans-le-bassin-du-congo-109428.
⁴J.A. Worah, C.M. Yobo, I. AKPACA, D.M. Iponga, S.N. Maghiengha, H.C. Ndoume Engone, Analyse de la gouvernance et de la légalité d’attribution des titres d’exploitation artisanale du bois d’œuvre au Gabon: revue de littérature, Int. J. Progress. Sci. Technol. 16 (2019) 14. https://doi.org/10.52155/ijpsat.v16.2.1014.
⁵ P.O. Cerutti, J.N. Poufoun, A. Karsenty, R. Eba’a Atyi, R. Nasi, T. Fomete Nembot, The technical and political challenges of the industrial forest sector in Cameroon, Int. For. Rev. 18 (2016) 25–39. https://doi.org/10.1505/146554816819683690.