Forest degradation
A wood-only EUDR test: structural conversion of primary or naturally regenerating forest into plantation forest, planted forest, or other wooded land — not general canopy thinning.
What it means
Forest degradation is a real obligation for wood and only for wood. It means a narrow structural conversion between forest classes — not forest “quality”, not a canopy-loss threshold, not selective-logging intensity, and not storm or fire damage nobody induced.
In the regulation
Under the regulation, degradation is primary or naturally regenerating forest becoming plantation forest, planted forest, or other wooded land. A well-managed selective harvest that remains naturally regenerating forest afterwards is not degradation in this sense. Agricultural commodities are judged on deforestation (conversion to agriculture), not this limb.
How ERWAY treats it
The wood commodity guide on this site uses both forest-cover and forest-type layers so the plantation-versus-natural discrimination the degradation limb turns on is visible in evidence.
Related terms
- Regulation & scope
Deforestation
Conversion of forest to agricultural use after the cut-off — one of three conditions a product must meet (with legality and a due diligence statement).
- Regulation & scope
Cut-off date
31 December 2020 — the date after which deforestation (and, for wood only, forest degradation) disqualifies relevant products as deforestation-free.
- Regulation & scope
Relevant commodity
One of the seven commodities named by Regulation (EU) 2023/1115: cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood — products in scope only when listed in Annex I.
Keep reading
Commodity guidesWood and timber under the EUDR
What EUDR covers for wood, why a FLEGT licence no longer discharges due diligence, and how the degradation limb differs from deforestation.
13 min read
Regulation & scopeEUDR in plain terms: what Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 actually requires
The EUDR's scope, the three conditions every product must meet, the 31 December 2020 cut-off, and what due diligence actually consists of.
6 min read