EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products and Information Transparency

The aim of this study is to better understand the challenges encountered by the actors of the forestry sector in the implementation of the EUDR with regard to information transparency. The goal is also to observe how the actors are resisting the increased transparency required by the EUDR and the reasons behind it. One last objective is to compare the actors and their geographical regions in the challenges encountered during the implementation of the EUDR. To meet these aims, a qualitative approach based on semi-constructed interview was conducted. Actors of the forestry sectors, representing the different stakeholders, were interviewed. The interviews were conducted with actors from Europe and Central Africa. These findings allowed to identify three categories of challenges encountered by the actors in the implementation of the EUDR. The challenges are the comprehension of the regulation, the management of the information and the additional burden generated by the extra workload and costs. The results showed what are the solutions used by actors not willing to comply with the EUDR. Three different strategies of avoidance and reluctances are identified: avoidance by leaving the EU market or its supply chains; avoidance by voluntary not complying or use of illegal means; reluctance to comply or doing nothing and 'wait to see'. Finally, the analysis of the findings enabled the identification of an inequality between the actors with and without sufficient resources to implement and comply with the EUDR. Actors with more resources and more power seem to benefit from the EUDR. In light of these findings, the forestry sector and the EU Commission should consider the lack of resources of the actors in implementing the EUDR and propose effective solutions to address it. Several solutions could be considered to support the disadvantaged actors: financial, technical, or to simplify the regulation itself. Identifying solutions to address this problem could be the topic of future studies. This research work was conducted during the implementation phase of the EUDR. It would be interesting to reproduce this same research once the implementation phase of the EUDR is complete to observe the evolution and provide a better observation and understanding of the challenges encountered by the actors, as well as the strategies of compliance and avoidance.