Introduction to EU Wildlife and Forest Protection Policy
Illegal logging
The EU is active in prevention and action against illegal logging and the international trade in illicitly harvested timber as it has a serious economic, social and environmental impact. For example:
- It is estimated that such international crimes account for 15-30% & of all timber traded globally.
- The trade of illegally logged timber has an estimated value of between USD51-152bn annually, representing a major loss in tax revenues.
- Illegal logging is responsible for deforestation, habitat loss, species extinction, and contributes to global warming.
- Illicit proceeds from forestry crime may be used to fund conflicts.
The EU’s policy to fight illegal logging and associated trade was defined back in 2003 with the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Action Plan (FLEGT Action Plan). The key regions and countries targeted in the Action Plan are Central Africa, Tropical South America and Southeast Asia. Together they contain nearly 60% of the world’s forest and supply a large proportion of internationally traded timber. The Action Plan covers both the supply and demand side measures to address illegal logging.
The FLEGT Action Plan has led to two key pieces of legislation:
- The Regulation on deforestation-free products (Regulation (EU) No 2023/1115), which repeals the EU Timber Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 995/2010)
- FLEGT Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005), allowing for the control of the entry of timber to the EU from countries entering into bilateral Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs)
The EU aims to work with partner countries to improve forest governance and capacity building, oblige operators who place timber and timber products on the EU market to exert due diligence to minimise the risk of importing illegally harvested timber, promote dialogue and cooperation with other major markets, be effective in raising awareness and contributing to forest governance globally, help reduce demand for illegal timber in the EU.
As specified in the EU forest strategy to 2030 following the European Green Deal (2020), the EU aims to, inter alia, ensure that products consumed in the EU do not contribute to global deforestation. The new EU forest strategy for 2030 is one of the flagship initiatives of the European Green Deal and builds on the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030. It is accompanied by two staff working documents: Staff Working Document on the Stakeholder Consultation and Evidence Base and Staff Working Document on the 3 Billion Tree Planting Pledge for 2030.