EU deforestation law nudges timber trade, Indonesia probe shows, but risks persist

JAKARTA — Several European timber firms have cut ties with suppliers linked to deforestation in Indonesia following a 2025 investigation, suggesting that an upcoming European Union regulation is already influencing behavior ahead of its implementation at the end of 2026.

Still, new trade data show imports from high-risk suppliers continued in 2025, raising concerns that timber linked to forest clearance may still be entering EU supply chains.

In their 2025 investigation, U.K.-based NGO Earthsight and its Indonesian partner, Auriga Nusantara, traced timber from recently cleared forests in Indonesian Borneo to European importers, using government documents, satellite imagery and trade records. Analyzing nearly 10,000 unpublished documents submitted to Indonesian authorities, the investigators identified cases where timber produced through forest clearance had entered European supply chains in some cases.

The findings showed that the top five users of deforestation-linked wood in Indonesia in 2024 all exported products to the EU. Their main European customers were companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, which together ordered more than 23,000 cubic meters (812,200 cubic feet) of wood products that year, including plywood, decking and door frames. While only some shipments could be directly verified, the investigation pointed to a wider risk that timber linked to deforestation is entering EU markets through opaque supply chains.

But despite these findings, the investigation has already prompted changes among some of the companies involved, with several cutting ties with the suppliers named in the report. Under the EU’s new antideforestation regulation, the EUDR, set to come into force at the end of this year, deforestation-linked timber would be banned from entering the EU market.

“It is really encouraging to see these significant changes made not just by companies in the EU, but by their suppliers in Indonesia, to reject wood linked to deforestation,” Aron White, Earthsight’s Southeast Asia lead, told Mongabay. “This shows the power of legislation like the EUDR: it creates an environment in which using unsustainable or untraceable commodities becomes a major business risk for an exporting company.”

But new trade data suggest those changes remain uneven.

Change in business

Among the companies changing their policies is Belgium-based Fepco International, the largest recipient of Indonesian plywood shipped to the EU in 2024. The investigation found that Fepco imported hardwood plywood made from meranti (Shorea spp.) and other species from three Indonesian companies identified as major users of deforestation wood.

Since the publication of the report, Fepco has amended its sourcing policies and contracts to exclude suppliers linked to deforestation. The company said it took this step because it wanted to avoid such associations.

“We want to be recognized in the market by our customers that doing business with Fepco should be … zero risk,” said managing director Alexander de Groot.

Fepco has also strengthened its traceability requirements. Whereas it previously relied on Indonesia’s SVLK timber legality certification system, it now requires suppliers to also provide harvesting licenses, transport documents and GPS coordinates. These documents are being used to assess compliance with the upcoming EUDR, which will also apply to other deforestation-risk commodities alongside timber, such as palm oil, rubber and coffee.

Dutch timber importer Dekker Hout, another major buyer identified in the Earthsight report, said it had suspended shipments from suppliers named in the report pending further investigation and had launched an internal review.

“Dekker Hout operates under strict due diligence procedures and is fully committed to compliance with all applicable legislation, including the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) and the upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR),” managing director Olaf van Biezen told Earthsight.

Indonesia takes action

On the Indonesian side, PT Korindo Ariabima Sari, the second-largest exporter of timber from Indonesia to the EU in 2025, has also taken action. In 2024, the company sourced 14,497 m3 (511,957 ft3) of deforestation-linked wood, representing about 8% of its total intake, from cleared forests in a concession managed by PT Indosubur Sukses Makmur (ISM) in eastern Borneo. That same year, ISM cleared an area of rainforest the size of New York City’s Central Park within its concession to make way for plantations.

Following the report, Korindo said it had permanently stopped buying timber from ISM and its distributor.

“PT Korindo Ariabima Sari is committed to ensuring that our entire timber supply chain is free from deforestation,” its president director, Kim Young Man, wrote to Earthsight.

EUDR influence

Earthsight said these responses show how the EUDR is already reshaping the Indonesia-EU timber trade, even before it comes into force. By turning links to deforestation into a commercial risk, the regulation is pushing companies to scrutinize their supply chains more closely.

“There will undoubtedly be some cases where suppliers export their less sustainable product to other markets, but what we are seeing here is companies in Indonesia making changes to ensure sustainability across their supply,” White said. “This shows the potential impact of the EUDR goes far beyond just exports to the EU: it is shifting the baseline of sustainability at a global scale.”

A separate analysis by advocacy group Forest Trends suggests these company-level changes reflect a broader shift already underway. The analysis found that while early responses to the EUDR were largely confined to individual supply chains, governments in at least 25 producer countries are now rolling out national initiatives — from traceability systems to land mapping and legal reforms — aimed at meeting the regulation’s requirements.

These efforts have the potential to reshape forest governance beyond EU-bound exports, although their effectiveness remains uncertain and uneven. Separate investigations, including the one by Earthsight, show high-risk supply chains remain active.

“There is still work to do,” White said. “It was not difficult for us to find imports of very high-risk timber in 2025. This shows why only regulation can really shift the dial in the way we need: it raises the floor and creates a level playing field of obligations for all players in the market, not just those who choose to focus on sustainability for values-based or marketing reasons.”

Risks persist

Using Indonesian trade records for 2025, Earthsight identified continued imports into the EU from suppliers heavily reliant on deforestation-linked wood. One such case involves PT Kayu Lapis Asli Murni (PT KLAM), an Indonesian plywood producer that in 2024 sourced 87% of its natural forest logs (17,853 m3, or 630,473 ft3) from forest clearance in the ISM concession.

Much of this timber was meranti, also known as lauan, a tropical hardwood found only in natural forests and widely used in recreational vehicles due to its flexibility and moisture resistance.

Earthsight’s analysis found that KLAM exported meranti plywood to Italian company Maller Srl in 2025. Maller manufactures wood-based panels used in mobile homes, motorhomes and campervans, and industry reports indicate it supplies materials to many European RV manufacturers.

In a written response, Maller didn’t directly deny that its imports may be linked to deforestation. Instead, the company said it complied with existing regulations, including the EUTR, and relied on Indonesia’s SVLK legality certification system and third-party verification when sourcing timber. It said it wasn’t aware of any illegal or noncompliant practices by its suppliers at the time of purchase, and that procurement decisions were based on official documentation.

White said Earthsight was not alleging any illegal activity, only that Maller’s supplier had used large quantities of timber derived from forest clearance.

“This remains legal in Indonesia, if the right permits are held and processes followed, but that does not mean it is sustainable,” he said. “Notably the company has not denied that their supplier uses wood from legal deforestation.”

Following Earthsight’s inquiry, Maller said it had initiated additional internal checks and requested updated documentation from its suppliers. It also noted that the EUDR is not yet fully in force, and said it’s monitoring developments to ensure future compliance.

White said Earthsight isn’t claiming there have been any violations of the EUDR. The regulation, when it comes into force, will replace the current EUTR, which only bans illegal timber in the EU but doesn’t cover timber linked to deforestation (which, in places like Indonesia, can be either legal or illegal).

“One of the purposes of our research has been to flag supply chains involving wood from deforestation now, ahead of the EUDR coming into force, so companies can act on the information and ensure their supply chains are fully compliant before they are risking being in violation of the law,” White said.

Earthsight said that as long as companies continue sourcing from suppliers such as KLAM, they remain at risk of buying timber linked to deforestation, even if the wood is considered legal under current regulations.

Official audit reports reviewed by the group indicate that KLAM continued to source timber from forest clearance in the ISM concession in 2025. Satellite analysis shows that deforestation also continued in the concession, with around 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of forest cleared within a wider area of approximately 1,800 hectares (4,400 acres) of primary forest affected by logging and road construction. These activities extended into 2026.

“Any imports of wood products from PT KLAM in 2025 were therefore at extremely high risk of containing deforestation wood, which would be non-compliant with the EUDR when it is enforced,” Earthsight said.

Recommendations

Earthsight said that while the EUDR is already driving changes in the market, the continued trade in high-risk timber highlights the need for stronger action ahead of its implementation.

The group called on European importers to take a more proactive role in cleaning up their supply chains by requiring suppliers to exclude timber derived from forest clearance and by tracing products back to the concessions from where they were harvested, including through intermediaries. Contracts should be terminated where such links are found, it said.

Earthsight also warned that Indonesia’s SVLK legality certification system doesn’t guarantee that timber is deforestation-free, as it focuses on legality rather than environmental impact. Companies should therefore go beyond certification schemes and conduct their own due diligence, including demanding full traceability supported by audits, scientific testing and unannounced site inspections.

At the policy level, the group urged EU institutions to resist efforts to delay or weaken the EUDR, whose implementation has been put off for two years in a row, and to ensure its full implementation by the end of 2026. Earthsight said clear and timely enforcement is essential to driving change in the sector.

“A consistent message we heard from the EU companies we spoke to is that they’re ready for the EUDR and frustrated by delays and unpredictability,” White said. “The [European] Commission must reject any further attempts to delay or weaken the EUDR and ensure it is implemented in full at the end of this year. Companies have had several years now to prepare — they should be ready.”

Earthsight also called on Indonesian companies to stop sourcing timber linked to forest conversion and to improve transparency by sharing detailed information on their supply chains with buyers. The Indonesian government, meanwhile, should strengthen protections for remaining natural forests and reform its SVLK system to improve transparency and ensure it doesn’t certify timber from deforestation as sustainable.

Auriga estimated that 58% of deforestation in Indonesia in 2025 occurred legally within concessions or government projects, highlighting the limits of existing regulatory frameworks in addressing forest loss.
Banner image: Logs from natural forest cut down in the PT Bina Sarana Sawit Utama oil palm concession in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, November 2024. The yellow labels indicate the logs have been legally recorded within Indonesia’s timber traceability systems. Image courtesy of Auriga / Earthsight.

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Hans Nicholas Jong Editor

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