Timber imported by companies in the European Union is linked to logging activities on Indonesia’s Borneo island, according to a new report released on Tuesday. In response, NGOs are urging the EU to end its delay in implementing a ban on products associated with deforestation.
Last month, the EU revealed its plans to request a further one-year delay of the comprehensive European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). While environmental organizations welcomed the move, it faced criticism from key trading partners such as the United States and Indonesia.
The report, released by Earthsight and Auriga Nusantara, identified the largest Indonesian purchasers of wood from deforested areas in Borneo, revealing that all of them export to European clients, posing a significant risk that these imports are linked to forest destruction.
“This report demonstrates why the EUDR is urgently needed in Europe’s timber sector: to ensure buyers can be confident in where their wood came from; to stop the flow of deforestation wood into Europe; and to end European complicity in the destruction of tropical forests,” the NGOs said.
The report found that European buyers of wood sourced from deforested areas in Indonesia were primarily companies based in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. In 2024, these companies collectively ordered over 23,000 cubic meters of timber products, including garden decking and finished plywood.
Indonesia ranks among the countries with the highest deforestation rates globally, driven by mining, agriculture, and logging, and it has faced criticism for allowing companies to operate in Borneo with minimal regulation.
Environmental organizations expressed strong opposition to the potential delay of the EU legislation, which aimed to prohibit imports linked to deforestation starting at the end of 2025. However, the European Commission stated that the necessary logistical infrastructure to enforce the law had already postponed the legislation once.
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