What impact will the EUDR have on VPAs and FLEGT Licensing?

This year the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has entered into implementation. One of the commodities included within the legislation is timber.  

As mentioned within the EUDR, this legislation should build upon the positive results achieved through partnerships like Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA). Still, the European Commission has yet to announce which VPAs they will continue to work with and has yet to launch a Strategic Framework for Partnerships, detailing how cooperation related to the EUDR will be connected with existing agreements such as VPAs.  

VPA stakeholders are questioning what the impacts of the EUDR will be on their individual countries and the process at large. 

In response, Fern released a discussion paper, “What impact will the EUDR have on VPAs and FLEGT Licensing?” This paper is the result of a meeting Fern helped organise, bringing together experts on VPAs and FLEGT and discussing how VPAs could potentially strengthen the implementation and enforcement of the EUDR. It outlines recommendations and priorities for research and advocacy.

Categories: Briefing Notes, Illegal logging, EU Regulation on deforestation-free products