PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS

This executive summary of the 2021 NYDF Progress Assessment report evaluates government efforts to utilize forests for climate mitigation, focusing on the ambition of climate pledges, investment levels, and implementation strategies. While it notes that the Paris Agreement has confirmed the pivotal role of forests, the report finds that current national targets and financial investments are significantly insufficient to meet the global mitigation potential of forests.

• The New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) Goal 7 has been achieved because the Paris Agreement has formally recognized the critical importance of forests within the global climate agenda. Despite this recognition, deforestation and forest degradation persist worldwide.
• National climate pledges are insufficient compared to the actual mitigation potential of forests. An analysis of the 32 countries with the highest potential for reducing deforestation, improving forest management, and afforestation/reforestation shows that their combined targets cover only 50% of that potential. If India's afforestation/reforestation target is excluded, the combined targets represent only 16% of the potential.
• Financial investment in forest mitigation is critically low. Since 2010, governments have provided an average of USD 2.4 billion annually through domestic and international investments, which is only 0.5% to 5% of the required funding. These 'green investments' are far outweighed by 'grey' finance flows that may contribute to forest loss.
• While some governments have shown progress in reducing forest loss and enhancing sinks through various policies and institutions, these efforts have not been enough to stop global forest loss and degradation. The report notes that it is too early to fully assess the progress of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as reporting under the Paris Agreement will occur in a few years.
• Half of the assessed NDCs acknowledge the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in meeting forest goals, but there is a lack of clarity regarding how these groups will be involved in implementation or if their rights will be strengthened.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2021). PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021NYDFReport_ES.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS. 2021. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021NYDFReport_ES.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS |date=October 2021 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021NYDFReport_ES.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2021progress, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021NYDFReport_ES.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }