19.03.2021
In its last Newsletter, ClientEarth provides an update on the operation of the EU law to address illegal logging, the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), from December 2020 to February 2021. This issue includes information on what both the European Commission and EU Member States are doing to ensure the proper application of the EUTR, and provide updates on similar legislation internationally.
Over the years of investigating the functioning of the EUTR across the EU, ClientEarth has observed many cases of uneven and erroneous approaches towards this regulation. The reason behind this being multilayered – competent authorities struggling with understaffing and consequent shortcoming in expertise, timber operators without sufficient knowledge to develop a well-functioning due diligence system, and civil societies deprived of sufficient access to information about the current state of play of efforts to tackle illegal logging. All these factors significantly affect the potential of the EUTR and undermine the collective efforts to halt the illicit timber trade.
Having noted some of the most recurring questions concerning the implementation and enforcement of the EUTR, but also keeping in mind the basic elements of the EUTR that are still causing some ambiguities, ClientEarth is launching a series of short analyses aimed at providing the relevant stakeholders with substantive knowledge of the EUTR, and thus – at enhancing their response to the illegal timber trade.
If you have any updates to share that ClientEarth could include in the next newsletter, any queries regarding the EUTR implementation or enforcement that you would like ClientEarth to address in the next release, or if you would like to receive this newsletter by email, please contact us on :
forests-contact@clientearth.org
Recent developments - EU and Member States
Publications and resources
You can read the full Client Earth article here.
