Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests – An Assessment Framework and Initial Report: Technical Annexes

This technical annex assesses progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which focuses on strengthening forest governance, transparency, the rule of law, and the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). The report utilizes three primary indicators: the strength of institutions and policies in producer and consumer countries, the prevalence of illegal logging and related violence, and the formal recognition of land and forest rights for IPLCs.

• Between 2008 and 2013, five timber producing countries (Brazil, Cameroon, Ghana, Indonesia, and Malaysia) showed an average increase in weighted policy scores for forest governance, rising from 41% to 50%. Progress was most notable in transparency, financial management regimes, and policies ensuring the matching of legal supply and demand.
• Policy frameworks in seven consumer and processor countries (China, France, Japan, the Netherlands, UK, US, and Vietnam) improved between 2008 and 2013, with a weighted average increase from 39% to 48%. The most significant gains occurred in legislative frameworks, although legislation to address illegal imports remained largely absent in China and Japan.
• In 2013, nine timber producing countries produced over 80 million m3 of illegal timber, representing 33% of their total production. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was highlighted as a location where almost all logging is considered illegal.
• The absolute volume of wood-based products at high risk of illegality imported into ten key countries increased from 46 million m3 in 2000 to 60 million m3 in 2013. This increase was primarily driven by imports into China, India, and Vietnam, while imports into the USA and Japan decreased.
• Violence linked to forest and land issues remains acute; 523 people were murdered between 2010 and 2014 in cases with documented links to these issues. Approximately 80% of these murders occurred in Latin America and 17% in Asia, with many victims being indigenous peoples or local communities defending their rights.
• The proportion of total forests over which indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) have recognized rights increased by 38% between 2002 and 2013, reaching 15.51%. In low and middle income countries, this share is higher at 30.1%, though the rate of recognition slowed significantly after 2008.
• An assessment of 27 low and middle income countries identified 53 legal regimes providing for the recognition of IPLC rights. Of these, 19 (36%) are classified as 'ownership' regimes, mostly in Latin America, while 34 (64%) are 'designation' regimes.
• International financing for forest governance has increased through various initiatives, including the EU's FLEGT Action Plan (USD 900 million between 2002-2010), USAID programs (USD 400 million), and the World Bank's Dedicated Grant Mechanism for IPLCs (USD 50 million). However, a significant funding gap for the recognition of tenure rights remains.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2015). Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests – An Assessment Framework and Initial Report: Technical Annexes. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal10.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests – An Assessment Framework and Initial Report: Technical Annexes. 2015. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal10.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests – An Assessment Framework and Initial Report: Technical Annexes |date=November 2015 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal10.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2015progress, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests – An Assessment Framework and Initial Report: Technical Annexes}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2015}, month = nov, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal10.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }