Losing Forests by the Minute: New Laws in Cameroon and the EU’s Global Push

on July 8, 2025

Feature image by MATTHEW / Adobe Stock.

Tick-tock. With every minute that passes, roughly ten football (soccer) fields of irreplaceable tropical primary forest vanish from our planet. Deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics have serious local and global impacts, like undermining livelihoods of local communities and peoples, harming biodiversity, and aggravating climate change impacts. The relentless forest loss is particularly critical in regions like Africa’s Congo Basin, which is the second-largest continuous tropical rainforest in the world and a biodiversity hotspot. In hopes of addressing these issues, policy makers have taken different initiatives. Cameroon – a country in the Congo Basin – adopted a revised Forestry Law in 2024, replacing its previous Forestry Law that stemmed from 1994 and appeared long outdated. The revised law regulates and aims to achieve the sustainable use and management of Cameroon’s forest resources, responding to today’s challenges like the climate change. The European Union (EU) has also taken initiative with its Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR). The EUDR aims to minimize the EU’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide and thereby reduces global forest loss. This rests on the notion that the EU market imports and consumes forest and agricultural products that fuel forest loss elsewhere. The EUDR focuses on seven such commodities, namely: cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood.

These two initiatives share similar end goals but vary in their approach and scope. Cameroon’s revised Forestry Law is focused on creating clear rules of play in the country’s forest sector, which covers participatory management of forest and wildlife resources, sustainable forest management, forest protection and conservation, and community rights, among other things. The law defines the State’s role of monitoring and enforcement and sets penalties in cases of non-compliance. For Cameroon, the EUDR means EU companies must verify that the seven key commodities imported from Cameroon are legal and haven’t caused deforestation or forest degradation since 2020. To this end, companies in the EU must seek collaboration with their overseas suppliers in ensuring that EUDR provisions are met. For goods to be exported to the EU, companies in Cameroon must document and make available information to their EU buyers about the legality and deforestation-free status of their products. These measures include aspects like providing geolocation information about where commodities were grown and harvested.

Tree trunks loaded onto logging truck in the rain forest of Gabon, Central Africa. Photo by Fabian / Adobe Stock.

Different initiatives like the new Forestry Law and the EUDR can complement and support each other. Cameroon’s revised Forestry Law can help companies with EUDR compliance by seeking to strengthen the monitoring of forestry operations and punishing offenses more severely. The EUDR puts emphasis on legal compliance in countries of origin, like Cameroon, which can strengthen efforts to monitor and ensure compliance with forest and other laws in place. It can also help enhance traceability and transparency of supply chains, because it requires geolocation information of the commodities that are harvested and exported to the EU market – this, in turn, can support the goals of Cameroon’s new Forestry Law.

However, the initiatives also face challenges. For instance, the Forestry Law’s definitions of legal concepts may not align with international standards. Uncertainty also looms over the law’s implementation and enforcement, which has been a pain point with the previous edition of the law due to lacking resources and capacities of the forestry administration, for instance. This casts doubts over its potential effectiveness. The EUDR will also face multiple challenges in its implementation, like ensuring that its provisions are effectively enforced in the EU. The EUDR could also unequally affect producers in Cameroon, because smaller producers may struggle to meet the regulation’s strict requirements. It could also lead producers to divert their exports to other countries, such as China and Vietnam, where sustainability and legality standards are less strict than in the EU. Hence, while the EUDR’s effectiveness remains to be seen, it is already facing serious question marks.

Cameroon is not alone. Other countries in the region, like Gabon, are grappling with the EUDR’s implications while simultaneously devising their own domestic strategies to deal with deforestation. Ultimately, the story is repeated across countries worldwide, because the international trade by the EU means the EUDR has a global reach and each country will have its own interests, preferences, and proposed solutions to forest loss. 

That is why it is crucial to seek collaboration among countries, underlining the shared responsibility in tackling deforestation. This is increasingly important in the context of today’s trade policy environment with its tangible tensions, where unilateral measures tend to carry unintended consequences. Hence, collaboration in implementation of regulations is especially essential for the EUDR, because its influence extends across the borders of a single country. Also, regulations like the revised Forestry Law remain the backbone in a domestic context, so their implementation and enforcement should be supported by partner countries. It is for the benefit of forests and communities that different regulations should ideally support each other: by creating a framework that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Simple wooden dugout canoe on Barombi Mbo crater lake of Cameroon, Africa. Photo by Fabian / Adobe Stock.

Authors: Mathias Cramm (European Forest Institute) and Abubakar Ali Shidiki (University of Dschang)

Feature image by MATTHEW / Adobe Stock.

Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Policymaking: A Collective Call for Transformative Change

on June 12, 2025

Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Policymaking

On June 4–5, 2025, over 150 participants gathered in Brussels and online for a two-day event hosted by 11 projects funded under the Horizon Europe Cluster on Transformative Change for Biodiversity.

CLEVER, BioValue, RAINFOREST, BAMBOO, BEDROCK, BioAgora, BIONEXT, BIOTraCes and TRANSPATH, PLANET4B and DAISY joined forces to gather and offer insights from each project. The event created a shared space to reflect on how biodiversity can be more effectively integrated into public policymaking, spatial planning, and socio-economic systems.

Rather than presenting isolated results, the projects explored the deeper shifts needed to address the biodiversity crisis. Panelists were invited to share their insights, to connect science-related results with policy representations at the institutional level. Leading researchers from projects, Maria Rosário Partidario from IST, coordinator of BioValue, and Jan Börner from University of Bonn, coordinator of CLEVER, presented their findings and shared their knowledge, while policymakers and representatives from the European Commission emphasized the central role of biodiversity in the economy, environment, and society. Invitees from the Directorates-General from the European Commission were present, among these, Humberto Rosa (DG ENV), Gilles Doignon (DG R&I) and Anne Teller (Formerly DG ENV).

Through interactive workshops and a policy dialogue session, the event opened a much-needed discussion on how to realign institutions, narratives, and planning frameworks around biodiversity as a core societal value.

Each project also contributed with poster presentations highlighting key insights from their published research, practical case studies, and emerging best practices. These visual materials served to share concrete results and stimulate further discussion among participants, offering an accessible way to engage with the diverse projects’ approaches.

Figure 1: Projects presenting their work within the Transformative Change for Biodiversity initiative

Key Themes Emerging from the Event: From Projects to Systemic Change

From case studies to tools and governance models, the event underscored the importance of working beyond project boundaries. The collective message was clear: tackling biodiversity loss requires systemic thinking, where biodiversity is not treated as an add-on, but as a foundational element in shaping futures.

Sessions highlighted that transformative change cannot succeed without addressing questions of justice, equity, and inclusion. Discussions emphasized the need for more participatory and inclusive planning processes that give voice to diverse communities, especially those most affected by environmental degradation.

Humberto Rosa emphasized: “We can only protect and mainstream biodiversity through enlightened human interest—its role for quality of life, food security, wellbeing, resilience and so much more. Biodiversity has long been a second thought in policy, but things are changing. The EU Green Deal brought momentum; now we need to work for more of society to follow.” 

Figure 2: Discussions during a project’s session
Reframing Biodiversity as Opportunity: Integrated Governance for Real Impact

Participants recognized the fragmentation that often hampers biodiversity action. A key takeaway was the necessity for integrated governance—across sectors, scales, and institutions. By aligning environmental goals with economic, social, and territorial agendas, policymakers can unlock synergies and avoid trade-offs.

Throughout the two days, there was a strong call to shift how biodiversity is framed in public discourse. Moving away from narratives of loss and constraint, biodiversity must be communicated as a source of resilience, wellbeing, and long-term prosperity. The language used in policymaking and planning is not neutral—it shapes perception and determines priority.

The two-day gathering marked a significant step toward building a shared understanding of what transformative change for biodiversity entails. It demonstrates the power of collaboration—across projects, disciplines, and sectors—to challenge conventional approaches and to open new avenues for change. As the Horizon Europe projects continue  their scientific research work, the momentum generated in Brussels will continue to fuel collective learning and cross-sector innovation for biodiversity.

All key insights, discussions, and outcomes from the event will be consolidated into a white paper, which will serve as a summary of the collective findings and reflections, culminating on policy recommendations. This document will bring together project results, shared lessons, and forward-looking recommendations, contributing to the broader dialogue on transformative change for biodiversity and informing future policy and practice.

Check more pictues from the event here!

Photo credits: Rosa Castañeda, European Forest Institute

BioValue contacts:

Maria Rosário Partidario – Project Coordinator (IST, University of Lisbon) –

Chiara Bartolacci – Communication Manager (ICONS) –

CLEVER contacts:

Jan Börner – Project Coordinator (University of Bonn Institute for Food and Resource Economics) –

Rosa Castañeda – Communications Officer (European Forest Institute) –

Video: How does our consumption impact forests?

on June 3, 2025

How does our consumption impact forests?

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.

Deforestation, forest degradation, and the EU’s response

on May 13, 2025

Photo by Marcio Isensee e Sá/AdobeStock.

Ever wondered what goes into making your favorite chocolate bar, shampoo, pet food, bedroom closet or toilet paper? You might be surprised to discover they could hide some secret ingredients: a pinch of deforestation and a dash of forest degradation. Many everyday products are made using imported commodities like cocoa, palm oil, soy, or wood, which cause deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics and subtropics. Overall, one-quarter of tropical forest loss is linked to expanding agriculture for export, and losing a forest means losing the beneficial ecosystem services it provides, such as carbon sequestration, wood production, or water purification.

Consumption of everyday products in Europe can drive significant conversion of natural ecosystems in countries like Brazil, Indonesia, and Côte d’Ivoire. But along with European consumers, many other stakeholders globally affect forest destruction and conservation, like other consumer markets, companies along globalized supply chains, policymakers, public agencies enforcing laws, local populations with different rights and access to land use, and civil society aiming to safeguard the environment. This means that forests face multiple interests and pressures, challenging their governance.

The international community has not agreed on globally valid laws on forests and land use, although many public policies and private regulations from national to international levels try to tackle these urgent issues. In Europe, policymakers seek to reduce the EU’s role in commodity-driven deforestation with the new EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), which obliges companies in the EU to ensure that their sourcing of seven key agricultural and forest commodities does not directly cause deforestation and forest degradation. However, rather than becoming a global game changer for forests, this could merely result in “cleaning up” of supply chains for the EU market, according to new research by CLEVER, a research project funded by the EU. This means that in a globalized world, even if the EUDR was to be implemented strictly according to the rules, so that all EU supply chains became perfectly deforestation- and land degradation-free, different spillover effects in these markets would still limit what global reductions in deforestation and forest degradation this move could achieve. For instance, commodity markets could be segregated, so that the ‘deforestation-free’ (and more expensive) products go to the EU, while less sustainable (and cheaper) ones go to other markets with no or fewer environmental safeguards. The EUDR could also weaken or delegitimize some well-functioning forest conservation policy mixes among Europe’s major trading partners, such as the Amazon Soy Moratorium in Brazil. Furthermore, the EUDR poses governance challenges due to the way it was developed without seeking agreement of stakeholders outside the EU and sometimes misalignment with national policies in producing countries. This suggests that to tackle deforestation and forest degradation effectively, policy makers must carefully customize actions by taking into account existing policies.

Still, from a positive perspective, the EUDR sets an example that could influence other global consumer countries of agricultural and forest commodities to do the same: strictly regulating the import of products causing forest loss. This development could materialize through international cooperation and policy diffusion across companies and governments alike. Multilateral partnerships and societal pressure, such as trend setting by the civil society, can all support more forest-friendly supply chains.

The EUDR, while well-aligned with broader sustainability goals, introduces both regulatory opportunities and challenges for producer and consumer countries. To avoid unintended consequences, such as conflicting standards, better policy coordination is required. Although the EUDR closes a significant regulatory gap in requesting legal and deforestation- and land degradation-free agricultural and forest commodities, countries also need to come together to find workable solutions – such as supporting the lack of enforcement of existing domestic environmental regulations on the ground. Finally, the EUDR and private sector policies should not divert attention from traditional conservation measures, such as protected areas or payments for environmental services, as they remain key to combating deforestation at its source.

Authors (alphabetical): Laila Berning[1], Mathias Cramm[2], Metodi Sotirov[3], Rafaella Ferraz Ziegert[4], and Sven Wunder[5]

Contributors (alphabetical): Abubakar Shidiki[6], Claudia Azevedo-Ramos[7], Dario Schulz[8], Hassina Uwiringiyimana[9], Herman Zanguim[10], Lucie Temgoua[11], and Martin Tchamba[12]

Reviewers (alphabetical): Scilla Alecci[13], Alok Jha[14], Madeleine Ngeunga[15], Gustavo Magalhaes de Oliveira[16], Neus Sanjuan[17], and Vinicius Sassine[18]

[1] University of Freiburg

[2] European Forest Institute

[3] University of Freiburg

[4] University of Freiburg

[5] European Forest Institute

[6] University of Dschang

[7] Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA)

[8] European Forest Institute

[9] European Forest Institute

[10] University of Dschang

[11] University of Dschang

[12] University of Dschang

[13] International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)

[14] The Economist

[15] Pulitzer Center

[16] University of Bonn

[17] Universitat Politècnica de València

[18] Folha de S.Paulo

Conference: Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Policy Making

on April 14, 2025

Mainstreaming biodiversity in policy making

We are pleased to announce that our upcoming Conference and Public Panels on “Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Policy Making”, taking place on June 4th and 5th, 2025, in Brussels. This two-day event brings together nine EU-funded research projects—CLEVER, BioValue, Rainforest, Bamboo, Bedrock, BioAgora, Bionext, BioTraces, and TRANSPATH—which are working collectively to generate actionable knowledge on how European economies can thrive while reducing their impact on biodiversity both within the EU and globally. Together with policy makers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society representatives,the conference aims to explore practical strategies for integrating biodiversity into decision-making, particularly in relation to EU initiatives like the Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products.

Day 1 – June 4 (In-person only)

The first day (09:00 to 17:30 CET) will feature a full programme of sessions at the science-policy interface covering a range of tropical issues, including methods for assessing biodiversity impacts, developing effective conservation pathways, and advancing policy through transformative planning and governance approaches. We will also address the integration of knowledge across science, policy, and society, highlighting the role of collaborative networks in driving systemic change for biodiversity. The agenda includes presentations, interactive workshops, and discussions designed to foster cross-sector collaboration and enhance policy relevance.

Read the agenda here.

In-person registration is now closed.

Day 2 – June 5 (In person and Publicly livestreamed)

The second day (09:00 to 13:30 CET) will present a synthesis of key insights from Day 1, followed by panel discussions focused on mainstreaming biodiversity into local and regional policy-making within the EU, and on strategies for reducing the EU’s global biodiversity footprint. These sessions aim to promote open and inclusive dialogue on the role of biodiversity in shaping sustainable and resilient policies across Europe and beyond.

  • Panel I: How to mainstream biodiversity for policy making at local/regional scale in the EU – BIOVALUE

Nature and biodiversity need to be made endogenous to sectoral policies, with spatial planning enabling the territorialization, and therefore an integrated governance, of sectoral policies. It is therefore an ideal governance mechanism to promote an integrated alignment and coherence of sectoral policies to enhance the value of biodiversity.

Panelists: Humberto Rosa (DG ENV), Christian Albert (Leibniz Universität Hannover), Gilles Doignon (DG R&I), Henrique Pereira (iDIV). Moderator: Maria Partidario (IST UniLisboa)

  • Panel II: Reducing EU footprints in the world – CLEVER

The goal of this panel debate is to discuss alternative solutions (and related challenges) for the EU and its trading partners to continue beneficial trade relationships while reducing the undesirable impacts of trade on the environment and biodiversity, in particular.

Panelists: Luiza Bruscato (RTRS), Gilles Doignon (DG R&I), Louise Simon (Climate & Company), Alberto Schnell (IUCN), Anne Teller (Formerly DG ENV). Moderator: Jan Börner (Uni Bonn)

Online attendance (Day 2 only) is open to all and will include a live stream of the full programme on June 5th from 09:00 to 13:30 CET. Register for online attendance.

We look forward to your participation in this collaborative and forward-looking event.

The Horizon Europe Cluster Transformative Change for Biodiversity

The Horizon Europe Cluster on Transformative Change for Biodiversity is a strategic initiative within the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. It aims to address the root causes of biodiversity loss through systemic, societal transformation, focusing on integrating biodiversity considerations into various sectors by promoting fundamental changes in economic, social, and governance structures. The cluster supports interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research projects that explore innovative pathways for halting and reversing biodiversity decline, emphasising the need for inclusive, equity-driven approaches. This collective effort supports the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and contributes to the broader global agenda for transformative change in biodiversity conservation.

Launched in October 2021, the cluster has since fostered collaboration among multiple projects to maximise impact and facilitate knowledge sharing. The cluster originally included 11 Horizon Europe-funded projects, and it is now expanding with new projects funded by the European Commission on the same topics. These projects collectively work towards developing actionable knowledge and tools to implement transformative changes across Europe and beyond.

For more information, you can visit the official Horizon Europe Cluster 6 page: Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment.

CONTACTS

CLEVER Communication Officer: Rosa Castaneda – EFI –

BioValueCommunicationOfficer: Chiara Bartolacci – ICONS

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 management2,3, timber value chains in the region continue to face multiple challenges—ranging from technical and political complexities to issues of transparency and unsustainable practices4,5.

Photo credit: Juan Manuel Vargas.

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.

Photo credit: Dominique Tessa.

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:

Policy Brief on the EUDR and Brazil’s forest conservation

on July 16, 2024

Agricultural border and Atlantic Rainforest in southern Brazil. Photo by Xico/AdobeStock.

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) aims to reduce the adverse impacts of EU imports on global forests, climate change, and biodiversity as of December 31, 2024. It mandates due diligence for products containing forest-risk commodities such as beef, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood to ensure they do not come from recently deforested areas.

Although this is celebrated as groundbreaking, there are concerns about the high costs of compliance for all market participants, especially small producers. Using Brazil as an example, the policy brief “The EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products at odds with forest conservation in Brazil? A commentary” discusses plausible scenarios in which the EUDR could also lead to unintended and undesirable impacts on forests.

The commentary was written by Jan Börner, Laila Berning, Daniel Braun, Thomas Dietz, Johen Dürr, Fernanda Martinelli, Paulo Mortara-Batistic, Felipe Nunes, Gustavo Magalhaes Oliveira, Andrea Pacheco, Britaldo Soares-Filho, Metodi Sotirov, Daniel Vargas and Rafaella Ziegert for the Agricultural Policy Dialogue Brazil-Germany (APD).

Feature image by Xico/AdobeStock.

New EU commodity trade rules and related challenges for the timber sector – Views from Cameroon 

on November 24, 2023

Logs stored at a sawmill in Cameroon.

Imagine you were a vendor selling products on the market. One day, some of your known, old buyers would start demanding assurances that your products fulfil certain requirements; or else, they can no longer buy from you. How would you react? Would you seek to fulfil the new, additional requirements or simply sell your products to other buyers, who demand less? Moreover, how might other concerned actors perceive this situation, such as the government, who regulates the marketplace? 

Together with Dr. Shidiki Abubakar Ali and Herman Zanguim from the University of Dschang, I was part of a research team set out to explore these and related questions in the context of the Cameroon-EU timber trade as part of the CLEVER project. In 2023, the EU adopted new market requirements in the Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) for timber and some other commodities and derived products. For timber, the new requirements expand on rules that have been so far in place as part of the EU Timber Regulation. According to the new rules, timber products can be imported to (or exported from) the EU market only if they are legally produced and free of deforestation and forest degradation. With our team, we discussed emerging challenges and how to address them in Cameroon – a country producing and exporting tropical timber – with actors from State institutions, timber businesses, certification bodies, NGOs and the civil society, international organizations, and research and training institutions. 

A production forest in Cameroon. Photo by Herman Zanguim (UDS)

We found out that awareness of the EUDR is high but knowledge of its details on average is still low among the actors. The EUDR can be seen as complex as it contains a lot of details and technicalities, such as definitions of concepts like deforestation or forest degradation. An issue raised by many was that the EU has poorly communicated about the EUDR and what it might imply for a country like Cameroon. This may, in turn, have led to current lower levels of understanding of the EUDR and even misunderstandings of it, such as that the EU would be encroaching on other countries’ sovereignty with it. 

Different stakeholders in Cameroon also found that the EU had insufficiently involved actors in countries outside of the EU in the development of the EUDR, calling for a more participatory approach. Another point made by many was that the EUDR is perceived as overly restrictive and punitive for countries such as Cameroon that still have large areas of forests standing. Actors said that to achieve meaningful impacts, regulations like the EUDR should be more supportive and incentivizing for better governance in the countries where commodities are produced. According to them, a restrictive and punitive approach that they see with the EUDR is doomed to fail in its implementation due to lack of enabling conditions and support in countries of commodity production.

Logs stored at a sawmill in Cameroon. Photo by Mathias Cramm (EFI)

Timber businesses, on the other hand, did not appear too fussed about the EUDR. They believe themselves to be well prepared for its application, also because of existing EU regulations like the EU Timber Regulation. And what if their products were no longer accepted “as is” in the EU market? Their response was: Demand is high in Asian markets and buyers from African markets are also increasingly knocking on their door. Thus, there might be no shortage of alternative buyers for their timber products. 

It remains to be seen what the real impacts of the EUDR on countries like Cameroon, their timber industry, and their forests will be, after its application begins in 2024-2025. What will happen to the Cameroon-EU timber trade? How will Asian businesses, who import Cameroonian timber and re-export it to the EU, react? Will implementation and enforcement of the EUDR in the EU be possible and effective? Only time will tell, and we’ll hopefully follow the process from the researchers’ point of view. 

Written by Mathias Cramm from the European Forest Institute.

Toward compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation: Criteria, Tools, and Open Questions

on November 23, 2023

Bonn.Realis workshop

The past decades have seen a global increase in the production and trade in agricultural and forest-based commodities linked to deforestation and other socio-environmental risks. Different forms of governance have emerged to attempt regulation of these commodity supply chains to halt deforestation and ensure sustainable land-use change. In June 2023, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was adopted, requiring EU companies to ensure that certain products imported to the EU are not associated with deforestation. The EUDR aims to minimize the EU’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide. As such, it is intended to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss as stipulated in the European Green Deal. As the EUDR enters into force, many questions arise as to how the value chains of major globally traded commodities can become compliant.

With this in mind, the CLEVER and RAINFOREST partner Bonn.Realis organized a workshop called “Toward compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation: Criteria, Tools, and Open Questions” on November 13, 2023, joining participants both online and in person, at the Center for Development Research, University of Bonn. More than 60 stakeholders joined, mainly from Germany, Brazil, but also other international actors, representing all sectors – public authorities, private companies, certifiers, NGOs, company associations, and research organizations. The workshop aimed at providing a space for discussion and exchange, identifying knowledge and capacity gaps to comply with the EUDR as well as opportunities for future collaboration toward improving supply chain sustainability. The workshop focused on Brazil as a key supplier to the EU and three specific commodities covered by the EUDR (i.e. beef, soy, and wood).

Under Chatham House Rules, participants discussed two fundamental questions:

  1. What challenges must be overcome in the three value chains in order to achieve compliance with the EUDR and related due diligence policies?
  2. Which tools and support mechanisms are in place or being developed to overcome these challenges, especially as regards IT solutions, certification schemes, and the mutual recognition of administrative and control systems?

The workshop provided a solid overview of what operators in both regions as well as competent enforcement authorities in the EU can build on in terms of traceability systems and tools for compliance. We also gathered valuable information on areas where stakeholders require further clarification and guidance to align effectively with the new regulatory conditions. Questions around traceability, risk assessment and mitigating measures, supply chain segregation, and transaction costs dominated the debates in separate breakout groups for the three commodities. Considerable uncertainty exists as to the quality standards that competent national authorities and third parties may apply to evaluate future due diligence efforts of operators. There was also an emphasis on a pre-competitive collaboration among operators and service providers in order to generate accessible traceability solutions for all actors of the supply chain.

In sum, we have learned a lot about the challenges that key stakeholders involved in the implementation of the EUDR still need to overcome until its rules will apply from 30th of December 2024. A summary paper synthesizing the workshop’s main results will be prepared and some authorities have already signaled interest in feeding these results into ongoing consultations. Beyond contributing to the implementation process, these results will also feed into CLEVER’s research on policy analysis (WP4, 5) and stakeholder engagement (WP8).  

Written by Rafaella Ferraz Ziegert (UFR) and Jan Börner (UBO).

Photo by Rafaella Ferraz Ziegert (UFR).

Mapping international and local forest and ecosystem-related policies and governance mechanisms

on September 11, 2023

Exciting News! Our CLEVER researchers Laila Berning, Rafaella Ferraz Ziegert, Mathias Cramm and Metodi Sotirov published their latest research. They conducted a comprehensive analysis of forest and ecosystem-related policies and governance mechanisms.

Through extensive research and data analysis, they have compiled a comprehensive Excel database and identified six overarching policy and governance types. These types cover various levels of compulsion, actor participation, and geographical scopes, helping us better understand the regulatory landscape of regulating biomass supply chains for legality and sustainability at international and local levels!

Stay tuned for more insights into a selection of policies and governance mechanisms from the EU, Brazil, Cameroon, and Gabon! 

The following research activities will largely focus on the influences of the new EU Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR). The researchers will see how enterprises, NGOs and state actors react to the EUDR. They will also dive deep into analyzing the role of national policy and governance initiatives from Brazil, Cameroon and Gabon under and beyond the EUDR. 

These research activities will help us better understand the unfolding impacts of the EUDR and the implications for deforestation, forest degradation and biodiversity loss. Their insights will support identifying how global agricultural and forest commodity value chains can become more sustainable, both in terms of socio-economic and environmental impacts.

Get all the details here:

Final report: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8328016

Excel database: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8326909

Written by Laila Berning – University of Freiburg

Image by witsarut/AdobeStock