Goal 6 assessment

The November 2020 Goal 6 assessment by the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) evaluates the integration of forest conservation and restoration targets into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the report concludes that Goal 6 has been met through the adoption of SDG 15, it identifies significant gaps in how these targets are interpreted, measured, and reported by national governments and corporations.

• Goal 6 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which sought the inclusion of ambitious, quantitative forest conservation and restoration targets for 2030 in the post-2015 global development framework, is considered met via the adoption of SDG 15.
• There are critical deficiencies in the indicators used to track SDG target 15.2. Specifically, the indicators measure net deforestation rather than gross deforestation, which obscures the actual extent of loss in natural forests. Additionally, there are no quantifiable indicators to track progress on reforestation, afforestation, and forest restoration.
• SDG targets 15.1 and 15.2 were set to expire at the end of 2020. Despite this, the 51st session of the Statistical Commission in 2020 did not adopt any revisions for these specific targets.
• Global reporting on SDG 15 is hindered by significant data gaps and a lack of quantifiable components in many targets. A 2019 report indicated that countries fail to regularly collect data for more than half of the SDG indicators.
• National reporting through Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) often lacks concrete monitoring and evaluation processes. While 168 countries have submitted reviews since 2015, and 47 presented them at the High-Level Political Forum from July 10-16, 2020, some countries reported a conflict between economic growth driven by the forestry sector and declining forest areas.
• Corporate engagement with SDGs is increasing but remains superficial. A 2019 study of over 1,000 companies across 31 countries and 7 industries found that 72% mention SDGs in reporting, 25% include them in business strategy, and only 14% mention a specific SDG target.

APA

Hermann, B., & Streck, C. (2020). Goal 6 assessment. Forest Declaration Assessment. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020NYDFGoal6.pdf

Chicago

Hermann, Barbara, and Charlotte Streck. Goal 6 assessment. Forest Declaration Assessment, 2020. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020NYDFGoal6.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hermann |first1=Barbara |last2=Streck |first2=Charlotte |title=Goal 6 assessment |publisher=Forest Declaration Assessment |date=November 2020 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020NYDFGoal6.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hermann2020goal, author = {Hermann, Barbara and Streck, Charlotte}, title = {{Goal 6 assessment}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020NYDFGoal6.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }