Regulation 2023/1115 - Making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 150/206

Forests provide a broad variety of environmental, economic and social benefits, including timber and non-wood forest products and environmental services essential for humankind, as they harbour most of the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity. They maintain ecosystem functions, help protect the climate system, provide clean air and play a vital role for the purification of waters and soils as well as for water retention and recharge. Large forest areas act as a moisture source and help prevent desertification of continental regions. In addition, forests provide subsistence and income to approximately one third of the world’s population and the destruction of forests has serious consequences for the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people, including indigenous peoples and local communities who depend heavily on forest ecosystems. Furthermore, deforestation and forest degradation reduce essential carbon sinks. Deforestation and forest degradation also increase the likelihood of contact between wild animals, farmed animals and humans, thereby increasing the risk of spreading new diseases and the risks of new epidemics and pandemics.

Deforestation and forest degradation are taking place at an alarming rate. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that 420 million hectares of forest – about 10 % of the world’s remaining forests, equalling an area larger than the European Union – have been lost worldwide between 1990 and 2020. Deforestation and forest degradation are, in turn, important drivers of global warming and biodiversity loss – the two most important environmental challenges of our time. Yet, every year the world continues to lose 10 million hectares of forest. Forests are also heavily impacted by climate change and many challenges will need to be addressed to ensure the adaptability and resilience of forests in the coming decades.

Deforestation and forest degradation contribute to the global climate crisis in multiple ways. Most importantly, they increase greenhouse gas emissions through associated forest fires, permanently removing carbon sink capacities, decreasing the climate change resilience of the affected area and substantially reducing its biodiversity and resilience to diseases and pests. Deforestation alone accounts for 11 % of greenhouse gas emissions as stated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on climate change and land of 2019.

Climate breakdown induces the loss of biodiversity globally and biodiversity loss aggravates climate change, they are thus inextricably linked, as recent studies have confirmed. Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems are fundamental to climate-resilient development. Insects, birds and mammals act as pollinators and seed dispersers and can help store carbon more efficiently, directly or indirectly. Forests also ensure the continuous replenishment of water resources and the prevention of...