European Forestry Pulse #36 🌲

Hello,

The European Union just created massive regulatory confusion. Three different institutions proposed three different EUDR implementation timelines. The Commission wants December 2025 with a six-month grace period. The Council proposes December 2026. Parliament remains divided. All while the December 30, 2025 deadline remains legally binding until someone decides otherwise.

Forest professionals face impossible planning conditions. Invest in compliance systems now? Wait for clarity? Hope for another delay? Nobody knows.

But technology keeps advancing: Google just released an AI model that predicts deforestation risk before it happens. England launched a major resilience strategy to protect 40% of its timber supply. And Bavaria doubled forestry subsidies through a new digital portal.

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

The European Union just demonstrated how not to regulate an industry. Three major institutions proposed three completely different EUDR implementation timelines in November 2025. The result: regulatory chaos affecting every European forest professional.

The Commission's position (October 21, 2025): Large and medium companies face December 30, 2025 application date. But with a six-month enforcement grace period until June 30, 2026. During this period, national authorities won't conduct checks or apply sanctions. Micro and small operators get delayed to December 30, 2026. Downstream operators and traders no longer need to submit their own Due Diligence Statement - just verify and reference existing upstream statements.

The Council's position (mid-November 2025): The Danish EU Council Presidency circulated a separate proposal. Delay enforcement to December 30, 2026 for large and medium companies. Push small operators to June 30, 2027. This represents the third major postponement attempt. A majority of member states support it. But France and Spain oppose the delay. Germany remains internally divided.

Parliament's position (November 10-13, 2025): The environment committee voted November 10. The full Parliament voted November 13. But no final vote on the Commission's amendments was scheduled for November sessions in Brussels (Nov 12-13) or Strasbourg (Nov 24-27). Parliament remains fractured between politicians demanding 2025 enforcement and those seeking simplification.

The current legal reality: Until Parliament and Council formally adopt amendments, existing compliance obligations remain legally binding. December 30, 2025 for large and medium companies. June 30, 2026 for micro and small operators. This is the law right now. Everything else is just proposals.

The institutional timeline: The Commission called for swift adoption by end of 2025. Final trilogue negotiations between Parliament and Council are expected mid-December 2025. But nobody knows if they'll reach agreement. Or when final decisions become legally binding.

The IT system problem: The central challenge driving delay discussions is the EU Information System's capacity. It must process an estimated 75+ million Due Diligence Statement files annually across six key commodities. This is an operational readiness question, not a policy debate. The system isn't ready. Everyone knows it. But institutions can't agree on what to do about it.

What major companies said: Major manufacturing companies sent the Commission an open letter. They urged against postponing the application date. Instead, they want grace periods. Their argument: Another delay won't resolve core challenges. It would undermine investments already made. The regulatory uncertainty penalizes early movers who invested in traceability systems.

Why this matters: Forest professionals face impossible planning conditions. Three institutions proposing three different timelines. None legally binding yet. The December 2025 deadline still stands. But enforcement might not happen until June 2026. Or December 2026. Or maybe later. How do you plan compliance investments with this uncertainty?

The broader signal: When EU institutions can't agree on implementation timing for their own regulation, it reveals deeper problems. The EUDR was supposed to create legal certainty around deforestation-free supply chains. Instead, it created regulatory chaos around implementation dates. Forest professionals caught in the middle pay the price.

What this means for you: Continue preparing for December 30, 2025 compliance until legally binding changes are adopted. The grace period proposals aren't law yet. The delay proposals aren't law yet. The existing deadline is still the only legal requirement. Hoping for delays is not a compliance strategy. Plan as if December 30, 2025 is real. Adjust only when final legal texts are published. Sources: Compliance and Risks blog on EUDR proposals | Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Trusty Compliance on EUDR timeline

The European Commission published a draft regulation November 17 setting annual limits for net greenhouse gas removals by EU member states through 2029. The regulation puts pressure on national governments to meet targets under the land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) framework.

This directly impacts forest management strategies and carbon credit markets across Europe. Member states must demonstrate how their forests will contribute to EU climate goals. Countries with declining forest carbon sinks face difficult choices: restrict harvesting, increase afforestation, or justify why they can't meet targets.

The regulation operationalizes the EU's 2030 climate commitments by translating them into binding national obligations. Forest professionals should watch how their national governments respond. Expect new policies around harvest restrictions, planting requirements, or carbon monitoring in the next 12 months.

The takeaway: National forest policies will shift as governments face binding carbon removal obligations through 2029. Source: Carbon Pulse reporting on LULUCF targets

My article "The PR battle forestry never fought: How we lost public opinion while perfecting sustainability" continues reaching forestry professionals across Europe on Fordaq. (I know it has been in issue 35, but I think the message is too important to be overlooked.)

The piece explores a critical failure: In 1996, the public ranked forestry as more environmentally damaging than oil, gas, coal, and mining. The renewable, carbon-storing sector lost a perception battle to fossil fuels. Why? Because forestry never invested in professional communications while environmental NGOs built sophisticated campaigns.

Now we face the consequences: hostile regulations like EUDR, public suspicion, and policy makers who don't understand what we actually do. Understanding this history helps us fix it. Read it here: The PR battle forestry never fought

The takeaway: Forestry's communication failure created today's regulatory challenges.

Google DeepMind announced November 5 a new AI model called "ForestCast" that forecasts deforestation risk before it happens. This represents a paradigm shift from monitoring historical forest loss to predicting future risk.

The vision transformer-based model receives whole tiles of satellite pixels as input. It outputs predictions for entire tiles in one pass. This makes it scalable to large regions. The approach matches or exceeds accuracy of methods based on specialized inputs like road networks. But it relies solely on satellite data applicable in any region.

Google also released the first publicly available benchmark dataset for training deep learning models to predict deforestation risk. This allows other researchers and companies to build similar tools.

For forest professionals, this means better early warning systems. Identify high-risk areas before clearing begins. Target enforcement resources more effectively. Plan conservation interventions based on predicted threat levels rather than reacting to losses already occurred.

The takeaway: AI-powered deforestation prediction shifts forest protection from reactive to proactive strategies. Source: Google Research Blog on ForestCast

Forestry England launched November 10 its comprehensive Forest Resilience Strategy and Action Plan - a major framework to safeguard stable future timber yields while protecting against climate change, pests, and disease.

The strategy rests on three core principles: Assessing forest resilience at local level through analysis of environment, soils, climate projections, and landscape connectivity. Diversifying tree species, genetic foundations, and forest structures to reduce vulnerability. Restoring ecological foundations to nurture wider ecosystems, focusing on soil health, fungi networks, and keystone species.

Why this matters: Forestry England produces approximately 40% of England's home-grown timber. The organization confirmed it "remains committed to optimising sustainable timber production." Dr Eleanor Tew, Head of Forest Planning, stated: "By building forest resilience now, we aim to prevent supply disruptions and market volatility."

The strategy followed a horizon scan research project with University of Cambridge two years ago. That research identified the possibility of catastrophic ecosystem collapse in UK woodlands in the next half century without decisive action.

The takeaway: England's state forestry organization invests heavily in long-term resilience rather than maximizing short-term production. Sources: Forestry England official announcement | Confor UK response

Bavaria launched "WALDFÖPR 2025" in 2025, offering forest owners and municipalities up to 50% higher subsidies than the previous program. Applications are processed exclusively through a new digital forest funding portal at waldbesitzer-portal.bayern.de.

The program significantly increases funding rates compared to previous schemes. Key examples: Reforestation subsidies increased from €2.50 to €3.80 per plant. Young stand management: €650-1,000 per hectare. Additional 50% bonus for protective forests. Extra support for small private forests under 20 hectares. Wildfire prevention measures: up to 65% cost coverage. (Specific rates available in program annexes.)

The directive was published in Bavarian Official Gazette on June 18, 2025. The program supports measures contributing to climate change adaptation, biodiversity protection, ecosystem services improvement, and habitat preservation.

The takeaway: Bavaria dramatically increases forest funding to help owners adapt to climate change while moving to fully digital application process. Sources: Bavaria Forest Owner Portal | Bavarian Official Gazette 2025 Nr. 261

November 19-22, 2025: Vietnam Wood Show in Ho Chi Minh City – Asia-Pacific export opportunities for European timber

November 24-December 5, 2025: CITES Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan – Timber trade regulations and species protection discussions

Mid-December 2025: Expected EUDR trilogue negotiations between Parliament and Council – Final timeline decisions

December 30, 2025: Current legally binding EUDR deadline for large/medium operators (subject to final legislative changes)

Document your EUDR compliance status today. With three institutions proposing three timelines, you need a clear baseline showing where you stand right now.

Thirty minutes, critical protection:

When regulatory clarity finally arrives - whether December 2025, June 2026, or December 2026 - you'll know exactly what compliance work remains. More importantly, if authorities conduct checks during any "grace period," you can demonstrate good-faith preparation efforts.

Regulatory chaos doesn't excuse non-compliance. It just makes documentation more important. Show you were preparing despite the uncertainty. That matters when enforcement begins.

Until Tuesday!

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.

P. P. S. Know a forest professional who’s drowning in EUDR complexity or missing out on timber market shifts? Forward this email to them!

📩 Got this email forwarded to you? Subscribe to ForestryBrief here.

📚 Missed an issue? Browse the ForestryBrief archive

If you like FB be sure to subscribe to Boreal Tech Brief, a newsletter of my friend Axel covering tech in forestry with a Nordic angle: