Following the international trend towards sustainable and illegality-free production chains, the
European Union (EU) has adopted its own policies and strategies that potentially impact
countries such as Brazil, which produce a large part of the commodities consumed by the EU,
including timber. In this sense, the objective of this study is to understand how ready Brazilian
governance of the tropical native forest sector is to respond to the demands of this trend, based
on domestic policies and strategies, as well as on the network of interaction and influence of its
stakeholders. To meet this objective, a systematic review was first used using the PRISMA-P
protocol to identify Brazilian and international instruments for promoting legality and
sustainability in the timber sector. Next, a situational analysis was carried out to assess in detail
the possible impacts of the EU Regulation for Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) on the
forest scenario in Brazil. Finally, the network analysis served to understand how the
relationships and influence strategies of stakeholders in the Brazilian forest sector (government,
private sector, civil society and academia) affect Brazilian governance in the international
scenario. Our results indicate that Brazil is well positioned regarding instruments, particularly
state-owned instruments, since they have synergies with each other and with international
instruments in the same area. However, the effective implementation of these instruments
remains the country's main challenge. In addition to correcting these shortcomings, the
application of a policy mix and/or hybrid strategies based on national instruments would be
necessary. Additionally, dialogue, cooperation and mutual accountability between producing
and consuming countries, as well as economic incentives, are recommended. These
recommendations are also valid for Brazil's alignment with the EUDR, since the country may
face risks associated, above all, with legal and governance aspects (e.g: inconsistencies between
EU standards and Brazilian environmental laws), economic (e.g: unequal distribution of
additional costs) and socio-environmental (e.g: shifts to less regulated markets). On the other
hand, the EUDR also offers opportunities for Brazil to strengthen its sustainability instruments
and policies by seeking to maintain its exports to the EU. In the perception of stakeholders in
the Brazilian forestry sector, the Regulation brings together more negative than positive
perceptions and the networks of relationships and influences formed by them showed little
connectivity. Furthermore, we identified asymmetries regarding the influence strategies of the
determined focus groups: the federal government and the private sector tended towards
influence strategies of direct retention of resources (e.g: direct control of information for
decision-making), while civil society and academia tended towards indirect retention and
indirect use strategies, respectively. We conclude that Brazilian forest governance has
structures that are partially aligned with international sustainability and legality requirements.
Brazil has good instruments in this sense, and they are connected to the needs of international
governance, but it needs to improve their domestic implementation to be effective. The network
of stakeholders needs to strengthen its cohesion and connectivity to improve its forms of
influence on forest governance beyond the individual interests of groups. To remain a relevant
player in the commodities trade, Brazil faces the challenge of adapting and improving its forest
governance to the strict international demands for sustainability, such as European policies,
overcoming historical illegalities in the timber production chain, improving existing
instruments and strengthening the network of stakeholders. Consumer countries that have
already been complicit in the problem by importing products of illegal origin should consider
supporting producer countries in adapting their production methods to reduce socioenvironmental risks.
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