Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests

This executive summary evaluates progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which focuses on strengthening forest governance, transparency, and the rule of law while empowering indigenous peoples and local communities. The report finds that while some progress has been made in transparency and law enforcement, improvements are too slow to measurably reduce deforestation, and significant challenges remain regarding corruption, illegal logging, and the violation of land rights.

• Improvements in forest governance have not been fast enough to measurably reduce deforestation. While there has been progress in law enforcement, demand-side measures, and transparency, these gains are insufficient to overcome systemic governance challenges, including rampant corruption and the failure to grant decision-making power and rights to local communities and indigenous peoples.
• A significant portion of tropical deforestation is illegal, particularly where driven by commercial agriculture. In all countries that are the largest tropical producers of beef, soy, and palm oil, and in two-thirds of major timber-producing countries, there is a significant risk that one or more forest-related laws are being violated during commodity production.
• While many countries have strengthened laws against illegal logging and deforestation, implementation is often hindered by inconsistencies in legislation, a lack of political will, and limited resources for enforcement agencies. However, international cooperation has led to the seizure of USD 1.5 billion worth of timber since 2012.
• Emerging economies in Asia, specifically China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Republic of Korea, have introduced demand-side regulations to ban the import and sale of illegally harvested timber. The effectiveness of these laws is uncertain due to weak enforcement and potential loopholes.
• Transparency in the forest sector remains low despite an increase in laws granting citizens access to information. Governments often refuse access based on 'national interest,' and data is rarely released proactively, with Colombia's Environmental Information System being a rare exception. Additionally, corporate supply chain transparency for agricultural commodities remains limited, though companies like Nestlé and Unilever have begun disclosing palm oil supply chain data.
• The legal recognition of forest rights for indigenous peoples and local communities increased from nearly 11 percent in 2002 to over 15 percent in 2017 across 41 countries. However, in 14 assessed countries (including five of the ten largest forest areas), between 33% and 39% of land used by these groups remains unrecognized. Furthermore, murders of land and forest defenders have increased annually since 2014.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2018). Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2018NYDFReport_ES_EN.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests. 2018. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2018NYDFReport_ES_EN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests |date=November 2018 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2018NYDFReport_ES_EN.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2018progress, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2018NYDFReport_ES_EN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }