- Overview
- Agenda
- Related
REGISTER FOR ONLINE PARTICIPATION
The World Bank, under the EU4Environment Programme, supports the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine) in strengthening forest governance and promoting sustainable timber trade by developing and implementing effective Wood Tracking Systems (WTS) and aligning national practices with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
With this aim, the World Bank is organizing a regional learning event “Regional Workshop on Wood Tracking Systems and EU Deforestation Regulation Compliance: Strengthening Forest Governance in Eastern Partnership Countries.” The workshop will take place on 23–24 October 2025 in Yerevan, Armenia, with interpretation provided in Armenian and Ukrainian. The event will be held in person and via ZOOM, and participants are invited to register in advance.
The workshop aims to support stakeholders from Eastern Partnership countries in advancing transparent and efficient wood tracking systems to prevent illegal logging, improve forest management practices, and ensure compliance with EU market requirements under the EUDR. Through presentations, country case studies, and interactive sessions, participants will explore best practices, innovative technologies, and policy approaches for sustainable forestry.
Expected Outcomes:
- Strengthen understanding of EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements and their implications for the EaP region.
- Promote the design and implementation of effective wood tracking systems to improve transparency and traceability across the timber value chain.
- Build institutional and technical capacity of national authorities and stakeholders to prevent illegal logging and enhance sustainable forest management.
- Facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration between EaP countries and EU Member States on regulatory frameworks, digital tools, and monitoring mechanisms.
- Support regional dialogue on aligning forest governance reforms with EU environmental and trade policies.
DAY 1: Thursday, 23 October
Venue: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Yerevan City Centre, Armenia
Meeting room: Milano Conference Hall
Time (Yerevan time) |
Item |
|
9.00- 9.35 |
Registration and welcome coffee | |
9.35-10.00 |
General introduction and opening remarks (15 mins) Overview of workshop objectives, importance of wood tracking to control illegal timber harvesting and trade, and its connection with international commitments, particularly EU Regulation on Deforestation (EUDR) Expected outcomes (e.g., improved understanding, roadmap for EaP harmonization, regional coordination potential, replicability etc.) · Representative of the Ministry of Environment of Armenia ((Speaker: XXX, position, institution) · European Commission/EU Delegation Armenia (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) · World Bank (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) Introduction to workshop content and participant introductions (10 mins): · Steven Speed (Project Team Leader/ Forestry Project Officer, ONF-International) |
|
10.00-11.00 |
Setting the Scene: Presentations by the EaP countries on forest utilisation, governance and control (10 mins per country) · Armenia (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) · Azerbaijan (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) - TBC · Georgia (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) · Republic of Moldova (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) · Ukraine (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) Q&A (20 mins) |
|
11.00-11.15
11.15-13.00 |
Coffee break Introduction to WTS: Definitions, trends, and the Eastern Partnership context Interactive session: Quick overview of EaP participants' prior experience of WTS (15 mins) Definition of a national WTS, role, users and significance in global, legal and sustainable timber trade, trends, including EUDR (20 mins): · Antoine de la Rochefordière, International expert in timber legality, sustainability and traceability. Presentations by the EaP countries: Description of current approaches - SWOT analysis of WTS in each country (60 mins) · Armenia (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) · Azerbaijan (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) - TBC · Georgia (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) · Republic of Moldova (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) · Ukraine (Speaker: XXX, position, institution) Q&A (10 mins) |
|
13.00-14.00 |
Lunch at hotel |
|
14.00-15.30 |
System design, technologies and tools for wood tracking Overview of key system design and features and of tried and tested and emerging technologies and tools in WTS (20 mins): · Antoine de la Rochefordière, International expert in timber legality, sustainability and traceability". Interactive session: Defining key attributes for a successful WTS (plus plenary to compile list) (60 mins) Q&A (10 mins) |
|
15.30-16.00 |
Coffee break |
|
16.00-17.15 |
Review of examples of national or regional WTS in diverse environments and their relevance to EaP countries (25 mins): · Antoine de la Rochefordière, International expert in timber legality, sustainability and traceability". Demonstration of a wood tracking digital software platform developed for the Republic of Moldova as part of the project (15 mins): · Cedric Lardeux, Remote sensing and GIS expert, ONF International Q&A (15 mins) |
|
17.15-17.30 |
Summary of Day 1 |
|
|
Networking Dinner – Venue TBC | |
DAY 2: Friday, 24 October 2025
Venue: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Yerevan City Centre, Armenia
Time (Yerevan time) |
Item |
9.00-9.30 |
Welcome coffee |
9.30-10.15 |
The EUDR framework: Key concepts Objectives and overview of the EUDR, EU Operator responsibilities, and implications for producers and traders in exporting countries (30 mins): · Alain Verney, International expert in timber legality verification and implementation of national wood tracking systems Interactive session: Quick Overview of participants' prior knowledge of the EUDR (15 mins) |
10.15-12.00 |
National Pathways to EUDR Compliance: Risk Assessment and Readiness Steps for ensuring compliance with EUDR including (20 mins): · Alain Verney, International expert in timber legality verification and implementation of national wood tracking systems - Compliance timelines and enforcement mechanisms - Need to adapt national regulations and existing gaps in legislation - Verification of origin and species, and geo-referencing and real-time traceability - Legal ownership verification - Digital documentation chains - Risk assessment and mitigation methodologies. Interactive session: Following internal discussion, each EaP country team should make a brief presentation based on what they feel are the gaps in their national approach to EUDR (40 mins). Interactive session: plenary on developing a compliance checklist (30 mins). Q&A (15 mins) |
12.00-12.30 |
Wrap-up and closing remarks Key takeaways from both days (10 mins) Participant feedback (20 mins) |
FAQs
Yes. Please use the Sign Up button to register. This confirms your attendance for either the in-person event or access to the livestream. Once registered, you’ll receive an email with event access details, location or login instructions, and timely reminders.
The event recording will be available on this page shortly after it concludes. If you registered via the Sign Up button, you’ll receive a follow-up email with a link to watch the replay and access any resources shared during the event.