Forest Declaration Assessment submission on the COP30 Presidency Roadmap on Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030

The Forest Declaration Assessment recommends that the COP30 Presidency focus on four systemic levers to meet 2030 forest goals: aligning national ambition and planning, securing land rights and governance, reforming trade and real-economy incentives, and transforming financial systems. Key proposals include integrating deforestation targets into NDCs, ensuring 30% of forest finance reaches Indigenous and community organizations, repurposing harmful agricultural subsidies, and implementing mandatory nature-related risk disclosures for financial institutions.

• Governments should align national climate and biodiversity plans with 2030 forest goals by including emission targets for sectors linked to deforestation, such as agriculture and mining, and reaffirming commitments to phase out ecosystem conversion.
• Securing land and resource rights for Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant peoples, and local communities is critical, as forested lands managed by these groups in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru are net carbon sinks, sequestering more than twice as much carbon per hectare as non-community managed lands.
• There is a need to repurpose agricultural subsidies that harm forests, which currently total approximately USD 470 billion annually, to support a just transition toward conversion-free agriculture and agroforestry.
• Financial systems must address the 'debt–deforestation cycle' where high sovereign debt drives resource exploitation; the document suggests Multilateral Development Banks restructure or cancel debt and recognize natural capital as assets in sustainability frameworks.
• Financial regulators should move beyond voluntary action by establishing time-bound expectations for institutions to disclose deforestation-free targets and conducting environmental stress tests to evaluate resilience to forest-related shocks.

APA

Matson, E. (2026). Forest Declaration Assessment submission on the COP30 Presidency Roadmap on Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030. Forest Declaration Assessment. https://forestdeclaration.org/submission-on-the-roadmap/

Chicago

Matson, Erin. Forest Declaration Assessment submission on the COP30 Presidency Roadmap on Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030. Forest Declaration Assessment, 2026. https://forestdeclaration.org/submission-on-the-roadmap/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Matson |first1=Erin |title=Forest Declaration Assessment submission on the COP30 Presidency Roadmap on Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030 |publisher=Forest Declaration Assessment |date=2 April 2026 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/submission-on-the-roadmap/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{matson2026forest, author = {Matson, Erin}, title = {{Forest Declaration Assessment submission on the COP30 Presidency Roadmap on Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030}}, publisher = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/submission-on-the-roadmap/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }