The new EU Deforestation Regulation must have a positive impact on smallholders

4 May 2023 EU Deforestation Regulation

In our recent PEFC webinar, we presented the new EU Deforestation Regulation and PEFC’s related work. We invite you to view the recording, which addresses three important areas. In our third micro topic, discover how the new Regulation needs to have a positive impact on smallholders, besides its impact on biodiversity and climate.

Stakeholders, like PEFC, have called for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to ensure a positive impact on smallholders and their livelihoods. For PEFC this is even more important, as we were founded with specific focus on smallholders, to enable them to access markets and secure sustainable livelihoods.

Some of the unintended consequences of the EU Timber Regulation, linked to complex supply chains, land use rights and consequently the risk of removing the smallholders from the supply chain, can provide important learnings for an inclusive and successful implementation of the EUDR.

“This new law will need to strive for a right balance to make sure that the poorest or most vulnerable people that dominate the production systems in Southeast Asia are not negatively impacted by the regulation,” said Richard Laity, PEFC’s Southeast Asia Manager.

Using rubber as an example, Richard highlighted that the EUDR should work towards preventing scenarios where smallholders that depend on rubber for daily subsistence and income may be excluded from responsible supply chains and not connected to the market which provides a better price. As a consequence, they might change crops and expand their subsistence farming into further forests or other land uses.