Deforestation vs forest degradation under EUDR: the actual definitions

For anyone filling out a due diligence statement under the EU Deforestation Regulation, the first fight is usually with the regulation's own vocabulary. "Deforestation" and "forest degradation" sound like two words for the same bad thing. Under EUDR they're defined separately, they trigger different obligations, and mixing them up in a due diligence statement is the kind of error that gets a shipment held at customs.

What counts as deforestation under EUDR

The regulation defines deforestation as the conversion of forest to agricultural use, regardless of whether that conversion is human-induced. A fire that clears forest for subsequent pasture or cropland still counts, even if nobody lit it on purpose. EUDR tests land use before and after the cutoff date, and the cause of the change doesn't factor into that determination.

"Forest" itself has a working definition in the regulation: land over 0.5 hectares with trees taller than 5 metres and canopy cover above 10 percent, or land that could reach those thresholds in place, excluding land that's predominantly agricultural or urban already. Convert that kind of land into a cattle pasture, a soy field, or a palm block after the cutoff date, and you have deforestation in the EUDR sense, full stop.

What counts as forest degradation under EUDR

Degradation is narrower and, for a lot of operators, less intuitive. EUDR defines it as structural changes to forest cover, specifically the conversion of primary forests or naturally regenerating forests into plantation forests or other wooded land, or the conversion of primary forests into planted forests. The forest is still a forest afterward. It's just a different, lower-value kind of forest: a monoculture plantation standing where a diverse natural stand used to be, or a selectively logged tract that no longer qualifies as primary.

Deforestation takes land out of forest cover entirely. Degradation keeps canopy on the ground but changes what kind of forest it is. A soy field where there used to be rainforest is deforestation. A rubber plantation replacing naturally regenerating secondary forest is degradation. Both matter under EUDR, but wood products currently carry the due diligence obligation tied to degradation specifically; the other relevant commodities are assessed against the deforestation-free definition alone.

Why the distinction shapes your due diligence statement

A due diligence statement has to state, plot by plot, that the relevant commodity is deforestation-free relative to the cutoff date, and for wood, degradation-free too. Getting the category wrong doesn't just look sloppy on paper. It changes what evidence you need to pull. A deforestation claim rests on land-cover conversion, something a cloud-free satellite pass can usually confirm or rule out in a single look. A degradation claim rests on forest structure and composition, which takes a closer read of canopy texture and species mix over time, not just a yes-or-no on tree cover.

For a sustainability team screening a supply shed of a few hundred plots, that difference decides how much verification work each flagged plot needs before it goes into the statement. A field that's gone fully bare between two satellite passes is a quick confirm. A field that's still green but thinner and missing the species diversity it had two years ago needs a second look before anyone writes "degradation" into a compliance file.

Catching the change before the paperwork does

Either way, the clock starts the moment the land-cover change happens, not when someone notices it on an annual land-cover update months later. Deforestation Alerts was built around that gap: a weekly check against a cloud-free satellite pass for the forest area you define, flagged within days of a clearing showing up, so a new cut in your supply shed lands on your desk before it lands in a due diligence statement you're writing after the fact.

If your team is screening plots for EUDR right now, it's worth seeing what a weekly clearing alert actually looks like for your supply shed.