Zagreb - Certain products will no longer be allowed on the Croatian market unless producers or traders can provide evidence that they have not caused deforestation, State Secretary at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition Željko Vuković said on Tuesday.
"Businesses and traders will be required to provide evidence that relevant products and goods derived from cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, rubber and wood have not caused deforestation or forest degradation, and to submit a so-called due diligence statement," Vuković told Parliament.
The statement must include information on the country of production and the geolocation of all plots of land where the relevant commodities were produced, he added.
The requirements are set out in a bill implementing an EU regulation on the placing on the EU market and the export from the EU of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation.
Vuković said the regulation aims to minimise deforestation and forest degradation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and halt global biodiversity loss.
Without appropriate regulatory intervention, deforestation linked to the consumption and production of these commodities in the EU was estimated to reach around 248,000 hectares of forest a year by 2030, he said.
Homeland Movement MP Tomislav Josić said he supported forest protection measures but not at the expense of excessive administrative burdens on small businesses.
"Large companies have legal departments and staff who can deal with new regulatory requirements. Small producers and businesses often have only themselves or a handful of employees. The regulatory burden must be proportionate to the size of the business," he said.
Opposition MPs raised concerns during the debate about financial problems, overstaffing and possible criminal activity at the Croatian state-run forest management company Hrvatske Šume.