European Forestry Pulse #25 🌲

Hello,

The IUCN just launched six carbon projects with €9 million in funding. Each project gets up to €1.5 million. Germany's paying. The twist? These blend carbon with biodiversity and community benefits. Not just trees for credits.

Meanwhile, 91% of companies are still preparing for EUDR despite Brussels proposing delays. They're not waiting for politicians to decide.

Here's what's moving European forestry this week:

The IUCN rolled out six flagship carbon projects on October 12, 2025. Each gets up to €1.5 million in grants from Germany's BMZ through KfW.

The projects span five continents. Malaysia, Brazil, Tanzania, Indonesia, Philippines, Tunisia. What makes them different? They combine carbon sequestration with biodiversity conservation and community benefits. Not just carbon. The whole package.

Pahang Peatland Restoration (Malaysia): Restoring peatland ecosystems. Peatlands store massive carbon amounts when healthy. They release it when degraded.

Coffee Agroforestry (Minas Gerais, Brazil): Supporting 1,000 smallholder farmers. Coffee grows under forest canopy. Farmers earn carbon credits plus coffee income. Double revenue stream.

Zanzibar Community Restoration (Tanzania): Mangrove and forest restoration across 3,500 hectares. Local communities lead the work. They benefit directly.

Batang Asai Forest Restoration (Indonesia): Protecting endangered species while removing greenhouse gases. Conservation meets carbon finance.

EAGLE Restoration (Philippines): Transforming deforested areas into food and medicine forests. Communities harvest products. Nature recovers. Practical restoration.

Seagrass Restoration (Tunisia): Marine ecosystem restoration. Supports sustainable fishing while storing blue carbon. Coastal communities benefit.

Why this matters: Most carbon projects struggle to get early funding. Banks won't lend. Investors want proven returns. These €1.5 million grants bridge that gap.

The WALD facility focuses on innovation. They're testing new approaches. If these work, others can copy them. That's the point.

Related move: IUCN and KfW also launched the Forest Action Facility on October 11. That program has €19 million for Central America and Ecuador. It funds up to 20 forest restoration projects over six years.

What this means for you: Carbon project funding exists. But it flows to projects that combine carbon with other benefits. Pure carbon projects face tougher competition. Biodiversity and community elements strengthen applications. Source: Funds for NGOs - IUCN WALD Launch

The European Commission wants to delay EUDR by one year. Eight MEPs from Green, Socialist, and Left parties formally oppose it. They say the Commission has had enough time. Here's the key stat: 91% of companies are still preparing for EUDR despite the delay proposal. Only 42% have slowed their pace. Most aren't waiting for Brussels to decide. The December 30, 2025 deadline remains legally binding until Parliament votes. That vote hasn't happened yet.

The takeaway: Don't bet on delays. Keep preparing. Better ready and not need it than scramble later. Source: Food Navigator - EUDR Delay Pushback

Six countries signed a cooperation agreement at the 25th Nordic Wood Industry Forum. Latvia hosted on October 9. The memorandum covers woodworking and forestry sector collaboration. Specific details weren't released yet. Watch for announcements on joint standards, market access, and technology sharing.

The takeaway: Nordic cooperation could set standards for broader European alignment. Monitor developments for potential competitive advantages or disadvantages. Source: Wood and Panel - Nordic Forum

Austria exported 1.13 million m³ of glulam and CLT in the first seven months of 2025. That's up 1% from 2024. It ranks as the fifth highest year since 1999. Austria also cut softwood log imports by 383,000 m³ during January-July. Only Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina increased volumes.

The takeaway: Engineered wood exports remain resilient. Austrian manufacturers maintain strong export position despite market challenges. Source: Timber Online - Glulam and CLT Data

Asian boxboard exporters are shifting to Latin America. Why? EUDR compliance costs too much. They'd rather sell elsewhere than deal with regulations. This shows how EUDR reshapes global trade patterns. Products don't stop being made. They just get sold somewhere else.

The takeaway: EUDR changes global trade flows without necessarily protecting forests. Displacement matters. Source: Fastmarkets

FSC held a crucial webinar on October 13 about Intact Forest Landscapes. The discussion prepares members for the 2025 General Assembly in Panama (October 26-31). IFL policies remain controversial. Some say they block sustainable forestry. Others say they protect irreplaceable ecosystems. The debate continues.

The takeaway: IFL policy changes could affect certification access. Follow General Assembly outcomes closely if you operate in or near IFL areas. Source: ATIBT

First I would like to start with two corrections:

You are probably aware that ForestryBrief newsletters are written with AI. Not by AI, with AI. Significant manual work goes into each issue but I use several models to help me. I am a one-man-band but a newsletter like this would require at least a team of 3-4 if done entirely manually. So no matter how much AI-shepherding I do, mistakes happen. Sorry, this was my bad, will pay more attention.

And now, the announcement:

I love ForestryBrief. It has been a long dream of mine to have a newsletter similar to Morning Brew or The Hustle covering forestry topics. Well, there was nothing like this out there so I created it.

But it is probably no secret, that however this is a love-project, it needs to be sustainable on the long run. It takes much time and effort to keep it going and I was hoping that it would replace my much hated day job at an IT service desk so I can do what I love and put food on the table at the same time. That is why I put a paywall on Professional. I had many positive messages and congratulations regarding the newsletter. However after publishing 7 Professional issues, the interest for becoming a paying member is very-very-very sparse among my readers.

So I am going to have to look for something else to keep me afloat (more on that in a bit). Therefore I decided to keep European Forestry Pulse as it is, sent twice a week in your inbox for free. Professional is valuable (the 97 EUR monthly fee was not too much for it, you will see). But it takes too much time and effort with minimal returns so I decided to cut down on it significantly. I have no fixed schedule for it in mind yet, but expect it to be published about once a month or so. I have several topics upcoming which provide excellent deep dives.

Therefore I also decided to remove all paywalls and give you the already published issues for free as a thank you gift for sticking around and being my guinea-pig in trying to figure out how I can make a living in forestry content. So if you wanted to become a Professional member, thank you, but don’t rush. You will be one this week after I remove the paywalls.

What I am going to do next then? Well, you’ll find out soon enough.

What was I busy with that I could not publish the last Professional issue? I have a very busy October: last week I attended the 19th European Forest Pedagogics Congress in Visegrád, Hungary organized by FAO FCN and the Hungarian Forestry Association as a host, organizer and interpreter. Next week I am traveling to Sweden to the annual EFN meeting.

In one of the presentations in Visegrád it was said that kids nowadays are not encouraged to become foresters, they are pushed towards fancy tech jobs to make a decent living. I said on stage that I am a forest engineer who went into a tech job, but is eager to get back into the industry because AI is going to make my current work obsolete in a few months or years. Well, I might have overestimated that timeframe. I may only have weeks left…

So I would like to ask you if you are on the lookout currently for a trilingual forest engineer (English, German and Hungarian) who has 25 years of translation and interpreting experience about nature and forests (of course other topics as well), earned his living for 6 years as a journalist for Nimród, a well-known Hungarian hunting magazine and knows his way around forests, marketing, PR and most importantly around people from various backgrounds and cultures. (That would be me...)

I also organized and took part in a good amount of international venues like the EFPC congress and managed a few international projects. If you have something for me, drop me an email: [email protected]

So, here you go… this is what is up with me and FB lately. If you build in public, you also fail in public, but that is okay. You learn your lesson, pivot and carry on :)

October 14, 2025: US lumber tariffs take effect. 10% Section 232 duties start today. European exporters will feel this.

October 23, 2025: Stora Enso releases Q3 results. Webcast at 8:30 EEST. Register here

October 26-31, 2025: FSC General Assembly in Panama City. Major policy decisions expected on IFL and other issues.

October 27-30, 2025: 61st International Tropical Timber Council session. Also in Panama City.

November 10-21, 2025: COP Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil. Forest carbon and REDD+ will dominate discussions.

Check your EUDR compliance timeline right now. With 91% of companies still preparing despite delay uncertainty, don't stop your work. Review your due diligence documentation this week. The December 30, 2025 deadline remains legally binding. Parliament hasn't voted on the delay yet. Better to be ready and not need it than scramble later.

Until Thursday!

Wish you all the best: Peter

P.S. What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing in forestry right now?
Hit reply and let me know — I read every message personally.

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