2018 Progress Assessment Goal 6 Update

The report concludes that Goal 6 has been achieved through the adoption of SDG 15, although it notes that the indicators used to measure progress on halting deforestation track net rather than gross loss, which weakens the target's practical application. While the conservation target is considered quantifiable and ambitious, the restoration, afforestation, and reforestation components of SDG 15.2 are not quantifiable.

• Goal 6 is considered achieved because the United Nations member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015, which included forests in their targets and indicators.
• The target to "halt deforestation" in SDG 15.2 is viewed as quantifiable and ambitious, but the actual indicators used to track it focus on net forest loss instead of gross forest loss. This limitation means the indicators fail to show the extent of deforestation occurring in natural forests, thereby weakening the target in practice.
• Unlike the conservation targets, the elements of SDG 15.2 related to forest restoration, afforestation, and reforestation are not quantifiable, as proposals for such targets were removed from the final SDGs.
• The UN Forest Instrument and the UN Strategic Plan for Forests aim to increase the worldwide forest area by 3 percent, or 120 million hectares, by 2030.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2018). 2018 Progress Assessment Goal 6 Update. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2018Goal6.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. 2018 Progress Assessment Goal 6 Update. 2018. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2018Goal6.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=2018 Progress Assessment Goal 6 Update |date=2018 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2018Goal6.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment20182018, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{2018 Progress Assessment Goal 6 Update}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2018}, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2018Goal6.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }