The European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has recently gained global attention. Indonesian Trade Minister Budi Santoso announced that the EU is now willing to provide flexibility in enforcing the regulation.
Responding to this, UGM forestry policy expert Professor Ahmad Maryudi believes the relaxation should be seen as momentum to strengthen a fair and gradual transition strategy and improve forest governance in Indonesia.
According to Professor Maryudi, the EU’s willingness to relax the EUDR implementation in Indonesia is a normal part of diplomatic negotiation. However, he emphasized that Indonesia should not rush into complying with all the standards without proper preparation.
“We need to take a gradual and measured approach to handle this,” he said on Tuesday (Jul. 22).
Professor Maryudi explained that deforestation regulations are not only the responsibility of the forestry sector. Instead, it requires cross-sector communication involving agriculture, trade, and foreign affairs. Rather than choosing to fully reject or accept the EUDR, the key lies in managing the transition wisely.
“We can’t reject global regulatory trends, but we can and must set our own rhythm. The transition must be fair, not burden smallholders, and still maintain forest sustainability,” he stated.
He also highlighted that the EUDR is not a new development. Previously, the EU implemented the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), which aimed to prevent illegal timber from entering the EU market.
At the time, Indonesia was the first and only country to implement a timber legality system, the SVLK (Timber Legality and Sustainability Verification System), recognized by the EU.
Under the EUTR, countries entered into a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to develop a national system for verifying compliance. Indonesia was considered a success story in this process. SVLK remains the only system to pass the EU’s evaluation.
However, Professor Maryudi noted that under the EUTR, importers in Europe could still source timber from other countries through due diligence, even without official certification.
The shift from EUTR to EUDR, however, reflects a shift from a legality-based to a sustainability-focused approach to forest management. The EUDR demands not only legal compliance but also proof of the origin of the land and its impact on forest cover.
“This means much stricter and more complex standards, especially since it now covers not just timber but also palm oil, coffee, cocoa, beef, and soy,” he explained.
Professor Maryudi said the EUDR could be a chance to drive better forest governance in Indonesia. However, it also poses risks, particularly for smallholder farmers. Many of these commodities are produced by smallholders, accounting for approximately 50% of Indonesia’s palm oil and up to 90–100% of coffee and cocoa.
“This is a costly system. Even large companies may not be fully ready, let alone smallholders with limited technical and financial capacity. They will clearly be affected,” he warned.
While the EU may not be the largest export destination for all of these commodities, as Indonesia exports more palm oil to China and India, for instance, Professor Maryudi stressed Europe’s political influence.
“The EU often sets the trend in global regulation. If they raise the bar, other countries tend to follow. So even if the market share is not dominant, we must stay alert because the global direction is heading there,” he concluded.
Author: Lintang Andwyna
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Kezia Dwina Nathania
Illustration: ykan.or.id