The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Indonesia are among the countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world. While they support supply chain laws on paper, there are significant implementation deficits in practice. In a study, Lena Partzsch, Lukas M. Müller and Anne-Kathrin Sacherer examine this alleged contradiction using the implementation of the European Union (EU) Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) in the two countries.

Using a tripartite framework developed by Cashore and Stone, the authors explain the deficiencies inherent in the EU laws based on analysis of policy documents, expert interviews, and field research. The authors find that companies seize opportunities to shift their exports to less regulated countries. EU member states exercise their purchasing power too cautiously vis-à-vis intermediate (producing) countries in the supply chain, especially China. Finally, sanctioning is largely left to the private sector, despite government options for action.

The study can be read and downloaded for free until the end of February.

Citation:

Partzsch, L.; Müller, L. M.; Sacherer, A. K. (2023): Can supply chain laws prevent deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia? Forest Policy and Economics 148, 102903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2022.102903