Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Technical Annexes

This technical annex evaluates progress toward Goal 3 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which targets the reduction of deforestation from non-agricultural sectors. It identifies infrastructure, human settlements, and mining as the primary non-agricultural drivers, with logging as the main cause of forest degradation. The report highlights a significant lack of disaggregated data, making it impossible to establish quantitative indicators for progress. It reviews public policy tools such as import bans on illegal timber in the US, EU, and Australia, and the use of Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments (SEA) by the World Bank. Private sector efforts include FSC and PEFC certifications, though certified forest land has plateaued at 10% since 2008, and emerging responsible mining initiatives like the Oro Verde program in Colombia.

• Between 2000 and 2010, infrastructure (including roads, railroads, pipelines, and hydroelectric dams) and urban expansion each caused 10% of all tropical forest loss, while mining was responsible for 7%. During this same period, timber extraction and logging were the primary drivers of tropical forest degradation, accounting for approximately 52%.
• The report identifies a critical lack of disaggregated data linking deforestation spatially to specific economic drivers, which prevents the creation of measurable indicators to track progress toward Goal 3. Consequently, the assessment focuses on highlighting activities rather than measuring effectiveness.
• Public policy interventions to curb illegal timber trade include import bans introduced by the United States (2008), the European Union (2010), and Australia (2012). Additionally, the EU's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan uses Voluntary Partnership Agreements to establish governance and tracking systems in timber-producing countries, though it is limited by the exclusion of manufactured products and the non-participation of China.
• Mining impacts vary by region and mineral: gold mining caused the loss of 1,680 km2 of tropical moist forest in South America between 2001 and 2013. Other significant impacts are noted for tin, tantalum, and tungsten in the Democratic Republic of Congo, colored gemstones in Madagascar, and diamonds in West Africa.
• To mitigate infrastructure-driven deforestation, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments (SEA) are used as decision-making tools. The World Bank has expanded the use of SEAs, identifying 55 such assessments in 26 countries as of 2012, compared to 9 in 2007. The World Bank also maintains safeguard policies that prohibit funding for projects involving significant conversion or degradation of critical forest areas.
• Private sector efforts in the timber industry rely on certification schemes like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). However, the share of certified forest land has remained stagnant at approximately 10% since 2008.
• While no global certification standard exists for mining, the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) and the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) are developing standards. In Colombia, the Oro Verde program has protected approximately 4,500 hectares of a diverse eco-region by certifying artisanal gold and platinum mining.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2015). Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Technical Annexes. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal3.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Technical Annexes. 2015. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2015Goal3.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/2020/11/2015Goal3.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/2020/11/2015Goal3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }