Deforestation has been carried out for many centuries. Throughout history, trees have been cleared for agriculture, without a trace. Today, this is clearly not the case and deforestation – particularly in tropical rainforests – is under the microscope.
However, deforestation is a complex matter with many nuances and the definition itself is a hot topic, contested within the world of regulation. The definition according to the draft EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) text is “the conversion of forest to agricultural use, whether human-induced or not”. With that in mind, how can we ensure forests are safeguarded for future generations?
Industry wide commitment to change is needed
Regulations such as the EUDR require importers and exporters of forest risk commodities (into and from the EU) to trace back to source and mitigate any assessed risks. The pressure is on for organisations to realise the role technology can play in protecting our natural world and to utilise it. This is all well and good, but where does the journey start and how?
The reality is that the increased due diligence requirements set out by these regulations can only be truly adhered to if there is industry-wide commitment to change.
Now that the European Parliament has officially voted for the new legislation, EU-based companies will be required to implement stronger traceability solutions to ensure that their imports and exports are “deforestation-free.”
When technology meets nature, there is a huge opportunity to enhance efficient forest operations, whilst protecting the trees themselves. We can look to Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to improve traceability, accountability and trust between supplier, certifier and customers by creating an immutable, tamper resistant record of the transaction back to the product’s origin.
Misplaced fears are rife
But what is holding organisations back from adopting DLT? iov42’s timber traceability report found that the majority (56%) of respondents had misplaced fears that using this type of technology could lead to the ‘loss of trade secrets’.
However, purpose built solutions using DLT allows users to control access to particular data points using a model of permissions. For example, the shipment data only becomes available to the importer once the exporter has established a connection with them and has explicitly shared the shipment data. So whilst immutable, no trade secrets are being shared beyond those that need the information.
The great demand for timber must be managed
The timber industry is also incredibly fragmented, with widespread, bureaucratic and manual processes that are commonly paper-based, resulting in the industry lacking in the visibility, accountability and trust needed to meet regulation.
Even though recent regulations like EUDR and the UK Environment Act are putting pressure on importers and exporters to trace the timber they use back to source, the demand for timber is expected to rise thanks to increased use in construction, furniture design, and even clothing. With this, it’s a priority to manage the appetite correctly. Beyond these uses, responsible handling of our forests is arguably just as important. To secure their future, we must promote biodiversity and maintain the health of our ecosystems to effectively capture carbon and maintain healthy environments, whilst not shying away from the technological tools available to us.
