Protecting and Restoring Forests: A Story of Large Commitments yet Limited Progress

The 2019 five-year assessment of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) concludes that the 2020 targets for halving tropical deforestation and restoring 150 million hectares of land are likely impossible to achieve. Tropical deforestation continues at an unsustainable pace, with a 44% increase in the loss of humid tropical primary forests compared to the 2002–2013 baseline. While Indonesia saw a reduction in deforestation in 2017–2018, Latin America remains the region with the highest annual tree cover loss. Forest restoration efforts have been slow, with only 18% of the 2020 goal realized as of April 2019, and most gains occurring outside of natural forests. The report highlights a critical lack of 'green' finance, noting that development finance for agriculture is 15 times higher than climate mitigation finance for forestry. It argues that systemic change is hindered by inadequate corporate commitments, slow governance improvements, and the continued prioritization of short-term commercial profits over long-term conservation.

• The goals of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) are not on track, and the 2020 targets are likely impossible to meet. Tropical deforestation has persisted at an unsustainable rate since 2014, and the global rate of gross tree cover loss has increased by 43%.
• The loss of humid tropical primary forests has accelerated by 44% relative to the 2002–2013 baseline, increasing from 3.0 to 4.3 million hectares per year. Annual CO2 emissions from tropical tree cover loss between 2014 and 2018 averaged 4.7 gigatons, exceeding the European Union's total 2017 greenhouse gas emissions.
• Progress on forest landscape restoration is limited; as of April 2019, only 18% of the 2020 goal (26.7 of 150 million hectares) has been realized. A pilot study in the Mekong region revealed that most tree cover gains occurred on non-forest lands, while natural forests suffered a net loss.
• Agricultural commodity expansion remains the primary driver of deforestation, with over 90% of global deforestation linked to urbanization and agricultural commodities occurring in the tropics. While Indonesia's deforestation rate dropped by over 30% in 2017–2018, Latin America continues to experience the highest annual losses.
• Private sector efforts to eliminate deforestation from supply chains are inadequate. Only 8% of companies with commitments have a zero-deforestation policy that covers all operations and supply chains, and the number of companies making such commitments has stalled over the last three years.
• There is a severe imbalance in financing for forests. 'Green' finance for forests is minimal, with development finance for agriculture being 15 times greater than climate mitigation finance for forestry. Forests receive less than 1.5% (USD 3.2 billion) of the USD 256 billion committed by developed country donors and multilateral institutions to climate change mitigation since 2010.
• Socioeconomic factors and governance failures contribute to forest loss. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shifting agriculture accounts for 70% of total tree cover loss. Additionally, the reversal of legal and institutional protection frameworks in Brazil since 2019 has led to increased deforestation.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2019). Protecting and Restoring Forests: A Story of Large Commitments yet Limited Progress. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019NYDFReport_ES_EN.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Protecting and Restoring Forests: A Story of Large Commitments yet Limited Progress. 2019. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019NYDFReport_ES_EN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Protecting and Restoring Forests: A Story of Large Commitments yet Limited Progress |date=September 2019 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019NYDFReport_ES_EN.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2019protecting, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Protecting and Restoring Forests: A Story of Large Commitments yet Limited Progress}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019NYDFReport_ES_EN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }