Forests are being cut and degraded at an alarming rate, especially in the tropics, with the expansion of agricultural land causing almost 90% of forest reduction, according to a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. A first-of-its-kind law called the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), was designed to take steps to counter this. …The legislation was heralded by proponents as a breakthrough in the global battle against forest loss, it came into force in June 2023 and was due to be implemented at the end of this year. But since it was passed, several agriculture ministries — including those of Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden — have called for implementation to be postponed. …in 2023, the world lost some 37,000 square kilometers of tropical forest… A 12-month delay would mean additional global forest loss of about 2,300 square kilometers, according to EU studies.