The international event "Timber trade and the conservation of forests" held on October 8-9, 2018 at the Thünen Institute in Hamburg highlights five years enactment of the European Timber Regulation (EUTR), and at the same time the 5th anniversary of the Thünen Centre of Competence on the Origin of Timber. The conference considered experiences to date in order to draw conclusions for successful further development.
 
Five years after the enactment of the EUTR, both “light and shadow” can be seen in the implementation. While EUTR implementation in Germany and the other EU Member States has now made clear progress, the consistent application of the rules within the EU remains a challenge. The EUTR is still not implemented equally in each EU Member State. Timber imports to the EU have increased since the introduction of the EUTR, but clear statements regarding timber trade development since the enactment of the EUTR are not yet possible for tropical timber.
 
The timber identification methods and expertise of the Thünen Centre of Competence, and other related worldwide research agencies with regard to the genetic and chemical determination of species and origin, as well as the anatomical determination (especially in paper, fiberboard, charcoal and logs) have been developed further in recent years. These established technologies have been successfully applied in the implementation and control of EUTR and CITES regulations.  
 
For more information, please browse:
https://www.thuenen.de/en/infrastructure/the-thuenen-centre-of-competence-on-the-origin-of-timber/eutr-and-the-thuenen-centre-of-competence-jointly-mark-five-years-of-action/