Forest rights and governance 2023

The document examines the state of forest governance globally, noting that while protected area coverage has increased, human rights violations and the 'downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement' of these areas persist. It highlights a disparity between international focus on tropical forests and the limited scrutiny of industrial logging in boreal and temperate forests in developed nations. While some progress in the legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples' and local communities' land rights has occurred, approximately 1.375 billion hectares of customary claims remain unrecognized globally, and environmental defenders continue to face violence.

• Protected area coverage has grown over the last twelve years, but this is countered by some countries reducing the size or legal status of these areas and ongoing human rights violations during their establishment.
• Legal and policy reforms in tropical forest countries have seen mixed results; while Indonesia and Brazil have had positive developments, progress has slowed in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia faces risks from new regulations that may weaken forest protection safeguards.
• Developed countries with boreal and temperate forests, such as Canada, the United States, and Northern European nations, continue to allow intensive forest management that causes degradation, receiving less international scrutiny than tropical forests.
• Global efforts to recognize the land rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities are slow, with at least 1.375 billion hectares of customary or historic claims still lacking legal recognition by national governments.
• The European Union has introduced the Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) as part of a broader trend of countries adopting demand-side measures to restrict imports linked to forest degradation.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2023). Forest rights and governance 2023. https://forestdeclaration.org/resources/forest-rights-and-governance-2023/

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Forest rights and governance 2023. 2023. https://forestdeclaration.org/resources/forest-rights-and-governance-2023/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Forest rights and governance 2023 |date=2023 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/resources/forest-rights-and-governance-2023/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2023forest, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Forest rights and governance 2023}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2023}, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/resources/forest-rights-and-governance-2023/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }