NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS PROGRESS ASSESSMENT

The 2017 update to the New York Declaration on Forests Goal 2 assessment finds that while corporate commitments to reduce deforestation in agricultural supply chains are increasing, their scope and ambition remain variable. Progress is most evident in the palm oil and timber sectors, where certification standards are more prevalent, while the cattle and soy sectors lag behind. Although traceability systems are improving—with 81% of producer companies having them in place by 2016—many companies still struggle to verify if their supply is free of converted High-Conservation-Value (HCV) or High-Carbon-Stock (HCS) forests. Financial institution engagement remains limited, and direct data on the impact of these commitments on deforestation rates is currently unavailable, though new monitoring tools like GFW-Commodities and Trase are being developed.

• Corporate commitments to reduce deforestation are growing, but their quality varies. As of August 2017, the Supply Change Initiative tracked nearly 900 companies with risk exposure to cattle, palm, soy, or timber and pulp, with 471 companies having at least one commitment totaling 785 commitments.
• Commitment rates differ significantly by commodity; palm oil and timber and pulp sectors show higher adoption, correlating with the availability of certification schemes like RSPO and FSC. In contrast, the cattle and soy sectors lag behind.
• Traceability systems are improving, particularly among producers. In 2016, 81% of producer companies had a traceability system, up from 69% in 2015, while the rate for downstream companies remained at 71%. Traceability is more advanced for timber due to legislation in the US and EU.
• Despite increased reporting, many commitments remain 'dormant' or vague. Progress information was available for 51% of tracked commitments in 2017, up from 36% in 2016, but one-fifth of all commitments are considered dormant because their target dates have passed or were never set.
• Financial institutions have shown limited engagement in addressing deforestation risks. As of 2016, only a small number of 150 financial institutions linked to Forest 500 companies addressed these risks, and only about one-third had commitments related to the four major commodities.
• There is currently no available data to measure the direct impact of private-sector commitments on the reduction of deforestation, although platforms like Global Forest Watch–Commodities and Trase are being developed to fill this gap.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2018). NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS PROGRESS ASSESSMENT. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2017Goal2.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS PROGRESS ASSESSMENT. 2018. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2017Goal2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS PROGRESS ASSESSMENT |date=2018 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2017Goal2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2018new, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS PROGRESS ASSESSMENT}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2018}, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2017Goal2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }