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Deforestation-free label requires clarity on forest terminology
The regulation no longer singles out palm oil as the main villain in deforestation.
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An oil palm plantation in Siak regency, Riau, is pictured on April 26.
(Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
E
uropean Union environment ministers reached an agreement on a general approach to new rules addressing global deforestation during a meeting of the Environment Council in Luxembourg on June 28.
The proposal, which was initially presented by the European Commission in November 2021, aims to ensure that products and commodities imported into the EU are “deforestation-free” which is defined as “not having caused deforestation or forest degradation during their production”.
The council agreed to set mandatory due diligence rules for all operators and traders who place, make available or export products of six commodities: coffee, cocoa, palm oil, soy, beef and wood, as well as a number of their derivative products
The regulation no longer singles out palm oil as the main villain in deforestation.
The council defined “deforestation” as the conversion of forest to agricultural use, whether human-induced or not. While “forest degradation” means “structural changes to forest cover, that translate into the conversion of primary forests into plantation forests or into other wooded land”. In the document, “forest” is defined as land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than five meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent.
This commitment imposes a double-edged sword impact on developing countries with highly forested landscapes such as Indonesia.
It is a general, more pragmatic approach in addressing deforestation in the supply chain of commodities that are linked with forest degradation.
