Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Technical Annexes

This technical annex assesses progress toward Goal 2 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which aims to eliminate deforestation from the production of agricultural commodities—specifically palm oil, soy, paper, and beef—by 2020. The report uses market share of certified commodities and the number of corporate and governmental commitments as proxy indicators for progress, noting significant data gaps and varying levels of ambition across different sectors.

• The market share of certified palm oil grew from 0.6 million tons in 2008 to 9.8 million tons in 2013, representing 18% of global production. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) targets 15 million tons, or 28% of total production, by 2020.
• Certified sustainable soy production has remained relatively stagnant, reaching only 2.1% of total production in 2012. Barriers to growth include high transaction costs for producers, fragmented certification schemes, and a lack of consumer demand for an 'invisible ingredient'.
• Approximately 50% of the total industry managed forest area supplying the paper industry is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). Most of these certified areas (about 75%) are located in Western Europe and North America.
• There is a critical monitoring gap for beef, as no global certification standard with market share information currently exists. While some initiatives like the Rainforest Alliance Standard focus on Brazil, they have limited use and no publicly available success data.
• Corporate commitments to reduce deforestation rose from around 20 companies in 2009 to 307 by 2014. However, only 7% of 'powerbroker' companies have zero or zero-net deforestation commitments that cover all agricultural commodities they produce or procure.
• Financial institutions show the least progress; less than 20% of major investors have developed commodity-specific pledges or deforestation policies. Hedge fund managers and sovereign wealth funds received average policy scores of zero.
• Governmental support is limited: only seven of the 25 major agricultural commodity-exporting countries signed the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), and only three of those committed to reducing or eliminating deforestation from production. Among 15 major importing jurisdictions, nearly 50% have made public zero or zero-net deforestation commitments, but only three are NYDF signatories.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2015). Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Technical Annexes. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal2.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Technical Annexes. 2015. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Technical Annexes |date=November 2015 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal2.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 Technical Annexes}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2015}, month = nov, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }