Summary for policymakers: Forest Declaration Assessment 2025

The 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that global forests remain in crisis, with 8.1 million hectares lost in 2024 and the world 63% off track for zero deforestation by 2030. Deforestation is primarily driven by permanent agriculture (86%), while forest degradation is escalating rapidly, particularly in the Amazon Basin. Private sector action remains largely insufficient, with only 3% of Forest 500 companies meeting expectations for strong commitments. Public finance for forests (USD 5.7 billion) is dwarfed by environmentally harmful agricultural subsidies (USD 409 billion). Governance is hindered by power imbalances and insecure land rights, though protected areas now cover 17.5% of global land. The report calls for mandatory regulations, integrated landscape approaches, and inclusive decision-making involving Indigenous Peoples and local communities to meet 2030 goals.

• Global forests are significantly off track to meet 2030 goals, with 8.1 million hectares of forest permanently lost in 2024. Primary tropical forests saw losses of 6.73 million hectares, resulting in the release of 3.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases. The current rate of deforestation puts the world 63% off track on the pathway to zero deforestation by 2030.
• Permanent agriculture is the primary driver of global deforestation, accounting for approximately 86% of losses over the last decade. Additionally, forest degradation is increasing rapidly; in 2024, 8.8 million hectares of tropical moist forests were degraded, which is more than double the annual level required to halt degradation by 2030. The Amazon Basin was specifically impacted by fire-induced degradation.
• Corporate action to curb forest loss remains insufficient. Only 3% of companies in the Forest 500 meet expectations for strong deforestation commitments, and 63% show shortcomings in implementation or ambition. On average, these companies fulfilled only 16.2% of the criteria for implementing and reporting on zero deforestation commitments in 2024.
• Public and private finance flows are heavily misaligned with forest protection. International public finance for forests reached USD 5.7 billion in 2022-24, but this is only 1.4% of the USD 409 billion spent annually on environmentally harmful agricultural subsidies. Private finance for the agriculture, forestry, and other land uses (AFOLU) sector was USD 5.6 billion in 2023, representing roughly 0.3% of total private climate mitigation finance.
• Forest governance is undermined by power imbalances and the marginalization of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and local communities (LCs). While protected areas now cover 17.5% of global land, only 4% of these are managed by IPs and LCs. Furthermore, between 61% and 94% of tropical deforestation for agriculture is estimated to be illegal, with environmental crimes generating up to USD 281 billion annually.
• Restoration efforts show potential but remain small in scale. Naturally regenerating tropical moist forests expanded by over 11 million hectares from 2015-21. However, active restoration initiatives cover an estimated 10.6 million hectares, which is only 0.3% of the global biophysical forest restoration potential and falls short of the 30% target set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2025). Summary for policymakers: Forest Declaration Assessment 2025. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025SummaryforPolicymakers.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Summary for policymakers: Forest Declaration Assessment 2025. 2025. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025SummaryforPolicymakers.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Summary for policymakers: Forest Declaration Assessment 2025 |date=October 2025 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025SummaryforPolicymakers.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2025summary, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Summary for policymakers: Forest Declaration Assessment 2025}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025SummaryforPolicymakers.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }