Nigeria Must Meet EU’s Deforestation-free Products Regulation, Say Experts

Nigeria may be prevented from exportation of rubber, palm oil, soya beans, wood, beef, cocoa, coffee, charcoal and their derivatives to the European Union if it fails to meet with the December 31, 2025 deadline for the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) on importation of deforestation-free products/commodities.

The EU had earlier set January 1, 2025 deadline for the implementation of the regulation but later shifted it to December 31 for its members to comply. It is expected to bring down greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.

The EUDR is to guarantee that the products EU citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation worldwide.

The President of the Association for Forest Conservation and Green Industrial Charcoal Merchants, also known as Charcoal Legality, Florence Omolola Jones-Idowu, disclosed this at the training programme organised by the association on EUDR at the University of Ibadan at the weekend.

She submitted that failure of Nigeria to meet the deadline might rub off on its earnings from the listed EUDR commodities/products and their derivatives.

Jones-Idowu stressed the need for a change of narrative by providing solutions through the Central Traceability and Release System with adequate tree planting based on the cubic meters of forest harvest in relation to natural regeneration and enrichment planting at the origin of these products/commodities, designed to meet up to Nigerian Forestry Regulations, International certification and EUDR compliance.

She further stated that wood and charcoal exportation were not major drivers of deforestation as there were many other factors that the EUDR was trying to address contrary to previous assumptions.

Prior to this time, the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) was in force which was applicable to Tropical Wood and Charcoal which has now been repealed and replaced with the EUDR.

She noted that deforestation caused by population explosion, agriculture, housing, urbanization, effects of devaluation and other issues related to globalization are major drivers of deforestation.

She said there has to be collaborative and joint efforts to combat problems of deforestation and not just blaming wood or charcoal as the EUDR will sooner or later likely affect all agro-exports or non-oil exports into the EU.

Jones-Idowu said especially those packaged or derived from EUDR listed products/commodities such as cartons or paper bags, whether they were raw materials or finished products or were derivatives of rubber, palm oil soya beans, wood, beef, cocoa, coffee and charcoal.

Addressing journalists, she said: “For example, condoms are made with latex which is a derivative of rubber. Therefore, a far reaching consequence of the EUDR may also extend to the health sector, therefore all hands must be on deck as there is just 10 months left to the full implementation of EUDR.

“We have had experience over the years on compliance with the EUTR which gave charcoal and wood exporters an edge in understanding what European Union Deforestation Regulations expect in legality, standard and reforestation with historical mapping pegged at 2020.

“That is the major importance of this training. It is to help Nigerians create capacity and understand the regulation so that we can join hands together from the Grassroots level to be able to work with government and all stakeholders to make sure that we domesticate where necessary and get the support from the government and the grassroots level.

“The take home of all the participants is that it is not going to be business as usual. It is not in our benefit, if you don’t comply. Your buyer would be fined or jailed heavily and may be forced to file bankruptcy, thereby kicking you out of business completely.

“We need to make hay while the sun shines and everybody needs to come on board else we will not be able to export rubber, palm oil, soya beans, wood, beef, cocoa, coffee and charcoal into the European Union.

The training was organised for the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies such as Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Oyo State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Ogun State Ministry of Forestry, Ogun State Ministry of Environment, Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture, just to name a few.

Others include NGOs, associations, farmers, producers, dealers, suppliers, processors, merchants and exporters of the EUDR listed products and commodities such as rubber, palm oil soya beans, wood, beef, cocoa, coffee, charcoal and their derivatives to enable Nigeria build capacity along the value chain.

The training was conducted by SCS Global Services from the United States and Led by Jan Pierre Jarrin Peters, Managing Director EU Program SCS and Dr. Richard Bonsi, SCS Global Services African Representative.