The European Union (EU) has implemented a new regulation to protect American forests that excludes the direct participation of indigenous communities. This legislation, confirmed in December, aims to prevent the commercialization of agricultural products such as meat, cocoa, and coffee from deforested lands after 2020.
EU Regulation to Protect American Forests
According to the UN, between 1990 and 2020, global deforestation resulted in the loss of 420 million hectares of forests, a figure larger than the size of the EU itself. Agriculture is the main driver of this environmental devastation.
The goal of the law is to reduce deforestation worldwide, explains Alain Karsenty from the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development. However, with only 5% to 10% of global deforestation attributable to EU consumption, the measure is not expected to halt deforestation in Latin America.
Latin American agricultural products account for approximately half of the deforestation embedded in the EU, which is the second-largest trading partner of Brazil and Mexico, and the third for Argentina, Colombia, and Peru.
To ensure that its imports are not linked to destructive practices, the EU will require a traceability system that includes geolocation of the plots. Countries will be classified according to the risk of deforestation, which will affect the assessments of their suppliers.
However, this system could be costly for small producers, who lack the resources and training to adopt more sustainable practices, notes Karsenty. This could exclude them from profitable markets, as buyers might consider it risky to purchase their products.
Although the regulation could help mitigate the environmental impact of supply chains, the lack of guarantees in other aspects has been criticized. The Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (AGCT) warns that the law allows governments to ignore crucial indigenous rights needed to combat climate change and preserve biodiversity.
The European Parliament had voted to respect international land rights standards, but the final agreement only requires importers to verify compliance with these standards when recognized by the producing countries.
The NGO Fern highlights that the lack of indigenous inclusion could have serious consequences, as seen in Brazil under Bolsonaro’s administration, where indigenous rights were attacked and Amazon deforestation accelerated.
Fany Kuiru, a lawyer from the Uitoto people, emphasizes that indigenous people are the main guardians of the forests and the most affected by deforestation driven by intensive agriculture. She criticizes that the regulation was designed without considering the reality of these territories.
The Casino case, where indigenous people from Colombia and Brazil sued a French supermarket for environmental damage, exemplifies this issue. Karsenty suggests that instead of a boycott, import tariffs should be segmented according to the environmental impact of the products.
The AGCT insists that the EU must collaborate with exporting countries to address the root causes of deforestation, such as weak governance and land disputes. It proposes that the EU co-finance programs to help farmers adopt more sustainable practices, which could halt the destructive expansion of agriculture.
