© WWF Bulgaria
Forests
Forests are a vital source of oxygen.
They provide homes for wildlife and livelihoods for about 1.6 billion people.
They provide homes for wildlife and livelihoods for about 1.6 billion people.
Fires, clear-cutting, illegal and unsustainable logging and deforestation are putting forests and other vital ecosystems like grasslands and peatlands at risk.
This devastation of nature is happening fast - and it is directly connected to the meat, dairy, palm oil, coffee and chocolate we eat in Europe. From the Amazon to the Asian rainforests, the EU is responsible for more than 10% of global forest destruction.
The EU has the power to help stop this destruction: It can do this by passing a new law that would stop products linked to the destruction of nature from ending up on the EU’s supermarket shelves.
Through the #Together4Forests campaign, 1,193,652 people demanded a strong, new EU law to protect the world’s forests and other ecosystems, and fed straight into the European Commission’s public consultation on deforestation. Together, they sent a powerful message: It’s time for the EU to stop being part of the problem, and become part of the solution.
We will be there every step of the way to ensure the EU follows through and comes up with a strong, ambitious legislative proposal in 2021.
This devastation of nature is happening fast - and it is directly connected to the meat, dairy, palm oil, coffee and chocolate we eat in Europe. From the Amazon to the Asian rainforests, the EU is responsible for more than 10% of global forest destruction.
The EU has the power to help stop this destruction: It can do this by passing a new law that would stop products linked to the destruction of nature from ending up on the EU’s supermarket shelves.
Through the #Together4Forests campaign, 1,193,652 people demanded a strong, new EU law to protect the world’s forests and other ecosystems, and fed straight into the European Commission’s public consultation on deforestation. Together, they sent a powerful message: It’s time for the EU to stop being part of the problem, and become part of the solution.
We will be there every step of the way to ensure the EU follows through and comes up with a strong, ambitious legislative proposal in 2021.
'Deforestation and forest degradation are happening at breakneck speed. It's clear that the EU needs to radically rethink the way it consumes.'
Anke Schulmeister
Senior Forest Policy Officer
@ASchulmeisterO
© Brent Stirton / Getty Images / WWF-UK
What WWF is doing
To further the EU’s policy agenda on illegal logging, deforestation and forest degradation, we work on two important policy areas:
Illegal and unsustainable logging: WWF works to ensure that all wood products on the EU market are legally sourced. To achieve this we are working to make sure that both the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) and the EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) are properly implemented and enforced.
Addressing the EU’s role in global deforestation and ecosystem destruction: WWF is advocating for strong EU action on deforestation and forest degradation but also on ecosystem conversion and degradation, including a new law. Other measures also include strengthening cooperation with other countries producing and consuming commodities to address the underlying drivers of nature destruction and human rights violations.
Illegal and unsustainable logging: WWF works to ensure that all wood products on the EU market are legally sourced. To achieve this we are working to make sure that both the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) and the EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) are properly implemented and enforced.
Addressing the EU’s role in global deforestation and ecosystem destruction: WWF is advocating for strong EU action on deforestation and forest degradation but also on ecosystem conversion and degradation, including a new law. Other measures also include strengthening cooperation with other countries producing and consuming commodities to address the underlying drivers of nature destruction and human rights violations.
Contacts
Anke Schulmeister - Oldenhove
Senior Forest Policy Officer
+32 485 84 31 44
@ASchulmeisterO
Sophie Bauer
Senior Communications Officer, Deforestation
+32 471 05 25 11
@SoFreeBauer
Liesbeth Van den Bossche
EU Campaigner
+32 477 81 10 20
@L_VdBossche
Raquel Sancho Rovira
Campaign Assistant
Latest Forests News
Policy Briefs & Position Papers
Briefing: Protecting forests & human rights - a case for EU action
PDF 733 KB
NGO statement - Tackling deforestation & forest degradation: a case for EU action in 2017
PDF 471 KB
NGO Briefing - Tackling illegal logging, deforestation and forest degradation: an agenda for EU action
PDF 638 KB
Eating up forests: how EU consumption drives deforestation and land conversion: the case of soy from Brazil
PDF 3.08 MB
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