Eliminate deforestation from agricultural commodities

This policy brief evaluates progress toward the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) goal of eliminating deforestation from agricultural commodities. It reports that while commodity-driven deforestation rates have declined since a 2016 peak, the 2020 target for ending agriculture-driven deforestation was not met, and current rates remain similar to those seen before 2014.

• Commercial agriculture is the primary global driver of deforestation, with seven specific commodities—cattle, palm oil, soy, cocoa, rubber, coffee, and wood fiber—accounting for more than half of all tree cover loss. Since 2000, commercial agriculture has replaced nearly five million hectares of forest annually.
• Progress in Latin America is lagging, particularly in the beef and soy sectors. In Brazil's Cerrado biome, zero-deforestation policies by traders cover only 61% of soy exports and 20% of beef exports. Furthermore, only 32% of Brazil's 2018 beef exports were covered by a commitment.
• Financial institutions are significantly exposed to deforestation risks but lack adequate policies. Out of the 150 largest financial institutions most exposed, 93 do not have policies to address deforestation linked to their lending and investments, representing USD 2.6 trillion in finance provided to high-risk companies.
• Certification schemes for zero-deforestation have limited global uptake. The palm oil sector has the highest adoption rate, with 19% of global volumes certified under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, while only approximately 1% of global soybean production is certified under the Round Table on Responsible Soy.
• There is an increasing trend toward regulation and technological solutions. European countries are adopting due diligence policies, such as the UK's Environment Act and proposed EU regulations. Additionally, there is growing adoption of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and jurisdictional approaches, though the effectiveness of the latter is not yet fully assessable.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2022). Eliminate deforestation from agricultural commodities. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Eliminate-agriculture-driven-deforestation_Progress-since-2014.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Eliminate deforestation from agricultural commodities. 2022. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Eliminate-agriculture-driven-deforestation_Progress-since-2014.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Eliminate deforestation from agricultural commodities |date=February 2022 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Eliminate-agriculture-driven-deforestation_Progress-since-2014.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2022eliminate, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Eliminate deforestation from agricultural commodities}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Eliminate-agriculture-driven-deforestation_Progress-since-2014.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }