Meshing or clashing gears?

Abstract

As new regulations emerge to address deforestation and unsustainable land use, their interaction with existing national frameworks remains uncertain. This study examines the (in)coherence between the European Union Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) and domestic deforestation and land use regulations in Brazil, Cameroon and Gabon. 

Using a regulation interaction coherence framework, we analyse policy documents and expert interviews. While overarching goals align in reducing deforestation, specific objectives reveal competitive dynamics based on national interests and whether the regulation is trade-restricting or market-facilitating. Incoherence arises in regulatory scope, deforestation-free requirements, cut-off dates, and the EUDR's partial recognition of existing standards. The legality requirement is largely coherent, offering a potential point for policy alignment. Enforcement mechanisms show mixed coherence, as regulations employ similar tools but differ in their sanction-based versus voluntary compliance nature and third-party monitoring. The EUDR's implementation may generate both synergies (e.g., compliance facilitation, shared monitoring tools) and conflicts (e.g., sovereignty concerns, regulatory costs, delegitimisation). These findings are critical for assessing the EUDR's effectiveness in reducing global deforestation. We argue that transnational regulations should foster synergy with national frameworks to enhance impact and prevent unintended regulatory fragmentation. Empirically, our study provides insights for designing transnationally coordinated socio-environmental policies. Theoretically, it advances research on policy coherence and public-private regulatory interaction. Future research should conduct ex-post impact assessments to evaluate the real-world implications of EUDR implementation.

Citation

Ziegert, R. F., L. Berning, M. Cramm, S. Wunder, C. Azevedo-Ramos, and M. Sotirov. 2025. Meshing or Clashing Gears? Design (In)Coherences Between the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products and Third Country Environmental Regulations. Environmental Policy and Governance 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.70041