EUDR GeoJSON-format

Operators must enter geolocations of source areas into the EU system TRACES when placing products on the EU market due to the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products (EUDR, Regulation (EU) 2023/1115). As there is often a lot of data to be entered, it is possible to upload geolocations in TRACES. For the upload to succeed, the GeoJSON format must be used.

Note that when the term "producer" is used, it refers to the source areas. These are the areas where the resources are harvested (or, in the case of cattle born, fed, grazed and slaughtered).

GeoJSON file

A GeoJSON file has the extension .json or .geojson and is a code that looks like the following (example):

The above code results in a geolocation that looks like this on the map:

Figure 1 A polygon based on GeoJSON file

Geometric shapes

In a GeoJSON file, geographical feature markers are captured in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). This can be in various geometric shapes or collections of them:

Point: Point geometry types consist of two coordinate values.
MultiPoint: MultiPoint geometry types consist of two or more points (coordinate pairs).
Polygon: Polygon geometry types consist of at least four coordinate pairs and represent an enclosed area by these coordinate points.
MultiPolygon: MultiPolygon geometry types contain two or more polygon definitions.
Feature: A feature contains a single geometry object with the addition of optional properties (see below).
FeatureCollection: One or more features;
GeometryCollection: Two or more geometries.

Please note that geometry types ‘LineString’ and ‘MultiLineString’ within the EU TRACES system do not represent a valid geometry form for indicating source areas and will not be accepted or processed.

Optional properties
The EU TRACES system accepts and processes the following optional properties per geometry type:
- ProducerName: An optional producer name for the corresponding geometry type.
- ProducerCountry: The country of production ISO2 code.
- ProductionPlace: An optional name for the corresponding geometry type.
- Area: This represents the area of the geometry element "Point".

WGS84 (EPSG:4326) coordinate system

There are different types of system that describe positioning via coordinates. The EUDR requires the use of the so-called WGS84 system, which assumes longitudes and latitudes based on the centre of mass of the earth. The GeoJSON format uses this WGS84 system with longitudes and latitudes shown in decimal places.

Another commonly used coordinate system is the Universal Tracverse Mercator (UTM) system. This system divides the earth into 60 zones, each 6 longitudes wide. There are also 26 zones divided from north to south indicated by a letter from the alphabet. This results in, for example, UTM zone 32U in which DuraCert's office is located.

Note: A minimum of 6 decimal places must be used, otherwise the EU TRACES system will not accept the coordinates.

GeoJSON file type

There are two types of GeoJSON files:

1. This file variant is for producer-level use and has the following characteristics:
a. Contains all geometric shapes or collections thereof.
b. Can contain any of the optional properties.

2. This file variant is for commodity-level use. It contains multiple producers grouped by the "ProducerName" and "ProducerCountry" and has the following additional attributes:
a. Contains all geometric shapes or collections thereof.
b. Contains the "ProducerCountry" property per "Feature".
c. Can contain any of the optional properties.

Common mistakes
- Coordinate lines that intersect (e.g. eight-shaped figures)
- Shapes with holes in coordinate (e.g. donut shapes)
- "Open" polygons. All polygons should represent closed shapes (i.e. the 1st coordinate pair is the same as the last)
- Invalid geometry types (e.g. LineString)
- Coordinates representing straight lines
- Duplicate coordinates due to rounding of 6 decimal places in the system
- Errors in file syntax (e.g. missing ")" or "}")
- Invalid property names (e.g. "geomerty" or incorrect capitalisation)
- Invalid file format (PDF, txt)