The European Union (EU) is on a mission to save the world from deforestation and forest degradation. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is set to be enforced for large importers at the end of 2024 and for small importers by the end of 2025. EU importers will need documentation that the wood (and other agricultural products) was harvested from a sustainable source, along with documented geolocation coordinates (one point for 10 acres or less and four points for parcels over 10 acres) of each piece of wood imported to the EU.
Interestingly, this will soon expand to finished products such as furniture. As a note, the EU is a large furniture importer from China and Vietnam. The EUDR will be enforceable on these products too.
Since 1920, the U.S. has increased its forest and timberland while being the largest timber-producing country in the world. Safe to say, our logging and forestry practices are considered some of the best around the globe. Until the EUDR, U.S. timber products have been preferred by other countries because of the recognition of the quality of our timber harvesting sustainability practices.
On to the meat of this article, I reference the hardwood industry because that is my only body of knowledge. In 2008 the American Hardwood Export Council hired Seneca Creek Associates, LLC, to perform a comprehensive study to prove that American hardwoods are a legal and sustainable source. In 2013, Europe developed the EU Timber Regulation ahead of the EUDR. Seneca Creek performed another exercise in 2017 to verify their original findings and be recognized by the EU to exempt the U.S. timber industry from EU Regulation.
There are 36 observations in the study that point out that American hardwood is both legally sourced and sustainable. It is not feasible to reference all 36 statements, but here are a few of the essential points:
- All states are at low risk of sourcing illegally harvested wood. Almost all reports of stolen wood stem from line disputes or poorly marked boundaries.
- U.S. Forest Service inventory data is considered some of the best-kept data in the world. Also, growth to removal rates in hardwood states ranges between 1.3-12.9.
- Wetland areas that contain hardwood have seen little to no change.
- Of the timber harvested in the U.S., 92% is from private land ownership. Private property rights are cited as a primary contributor to mitigating illegal logging activity.
- Private landowners will likely refrain from participating in certification programs due to a low return on investment. Although world economies pressure U.S. producers to supply certified products, the lack of certification of U.S. wood is a prohibitor.
- Original harvest sites are hard to identify with the extended supply chain of the U.S. timber industry.
- There are superior BMP programs that are monitored in each hardwood-producing state.
- Invasive pests and wildfires are identified as inhibitors of a sustainable resource along with urban sprawl. It is also noted that strong markets are needed to continue encouraging landowners to manage their forestland actively.
All the data and observations were obtained from (Goetzl A., Berg S., Dodge G., et al.,2019). Assessment of Lawful Sourcing and Sustainability: U.S. Hardwood Exports.
In conclusion, EUDR is going to only allow U.S. wood access to its markets with the coordinate data described above. At this point, we do not observe a disturbance to Kretz landowner partners, but we will keep you updated as the information we receive becomes clearer.
