Europe's hidden hand in deforestation

Europe's hidden hand in deforestation

Source: FERN - Thu, 29 May 2014 10:14 AM
Author: Fred Pearce

Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.


In Liberia, a European company is accused of beating villagers protesting against their land being seized for the planting of oil palm. In Cambodia, displaced rice farmers take to the streets of the capital Phnom Penh to demand the return of land taken by senior politicians to grow sugar cane for supply to Europe. At a port in France, journalists track down timber illegally logged in Republic of Congo and shipped to Europe in contravention of new EU rules.

These three instances from the past year represent the tip of a very large iceberg of illegality, deforestation and abuse of community land rights that can be traced back to the demands of European consumers and the ruthlessness of corporations in feeding that demand.

They give a glimpse into a world very different from the narrative usually heard in European capitals, in which the European Union is on the frontline of protecting forests, defending community rights, fighting climate change, and banging the drum for sustainable development.

Recent studies reveal that EU member states are, through their imports of agricultural commodities, collectively the largest single cause of deforestation worldwide. A handful of major imports dominate the EU’s forest footprint. The biggest are soy from Brazil and Argentina, and palm oil from Southeast Asia.

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