Eliminate deforestation from agricultural commodities

The document reports that while commodity-driven deforestation rates have declined since 2016, the original 2020 target for ending agriculture-driven deforestation was not met. It highlights significant gaps in corporate commitments, particularly in Latin America's beef and soy sectors, and a lack of comprehensive policies among major financial institutions. While technological tools and jurisdictional approaches are gaining traction, the brief calls for stronger government due diligence policies and increased private sector transparency to drive transformational change.

• Commercial agriculture remains 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 tree cover loss.
• The target to end agriculture-driven deforestation by 2020 was not achieved. Although rates have decreased since a 2016 peak, current levels are similar to those seen in the decade before the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests.
• Significant gaps exist in commodity commitments in Latin America; for example, only 32% of Brazil's 2018 beef exports were covered by a commitment, and in the Cerrado biome, only 20% of beef and 61% of soy exports are controlled by traders with zero-deforestation policies.
• Financial institutions are lagging in addressing deforestation risks, with 93 of the 150 most exposed institutions lacking policies to address deforestation linked to their lending and investments, representing USD 2.6 trillion in finance.
• Certification uptake is low across supply chains, with only 19% of global palm oil volumes certified under the RSPO and approximately 1% of global soybean production certified under the Round Table on Responsible Soy.
• There is a trend toward the use of technological solutions, such as Geographical Information Systems and traceability tools, as well as the adoption of jurisdictional approaches and demand-side due diligence policies in the UK and EU.

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} }