FOREST DECLARATION ASSESSMENT

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment for the Congo Basin reports a rise in deforestation in 2021, with 636,000 hectares lost, meaning only Gabon and the Republic of the Congo are currently aligned with the trajectory to end deforestation by 2030. While the region is a critical carbon sink, absorbing 0.61 Gt CO2eq annually, it faces threats from small-scale agriculture, industrial mining, and weak land tenure security. Despite international pledges of 1.5 billion USD (2021-2025) and national legal frameworks, the report highlights significant gaps in law enforcement, intersectoral policy alignment, and funding for indigenous peoples and local communities.

• Deforestation in the Congo Basin increased by nearly 30,000 hectares (4.9%) in 2021 compared to the 2018-2020 reference period, totaling 636,000 hectares. To meet the 2030 global goal of ending deforestation, the region requires a 10% annual reduction in forest cover loss; currently, only Gabon and the Republic of the Congo are aligned with this trajectory.
• Forest degradation and fragmentation are significant precursors to permanent deforestation. Between 2000 and 2016, the proportion of intact forests in the region dropped from 78% to 67%, representing approximately 23 million hectares of degraded area. From 2015 to 2020, about 11% of regional deforestation (650,000 hectares) occurred in forests that were first fragmented.
• The primary drivers of deforestation and degradation are small-scale agriculture combined with the construction of roads and settlements. While industrial mining, commercial agriculture, and forestry cause severe disturbances in intact central forests—impacting carbon stocks and biodiversity—subsistence farming by smallholders is the most widespread driver in rural areas.
• Governance weaknesses, including a lack of land tenure security for local communities, corruption, and political favoritism in resource concessions, exacerbate forest loss. Although legal frameworks for forest protection exist, they are often hindered by a lack of implementing regulations and contradictions with other sectoral laws.
• Financial support for the region remains insufficient. A group of 12 donors, including the US, UK, and European Commission, pledged 1.5 billion USD for 2021-2025, and CAFI signed letters of intent for 465 million USD for Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and the DRC. However, these amounts are small compared to the needs of Cameroon and the DRC, which estimated land sector needs at 29.8 billion USD for 2020-2030.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2022). FOREST DECLARATION ASSESSMENT. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022RegionalExecSummary_FR.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. FOREST DECLARATION ASSESSMENT. 2022. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022RegionalExecSummary_FR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=FOREST DECLARATION ASSESSMENT |date=November 2022 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022RegionalExecSummary_FR.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2022forest, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{FOREST DECLARATION ASSESSMENT}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022RegionalExecSummary_FR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }