Reduce forest impacts from infrastructure and extractive industries

The document identifies infrastructure and extractive industries as 'drivers of drivers' that open forest access and facilitate further deforestation. While these sectors directly cause less loss than agriculture (10% and 7% respectively), they enable vast indirect degradation. The brief highlights systemic failures, including power imbalances excluding Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), lack of transparency, and finance flowing to destructive activities. Despite some progress through G7 commitments, World Bank initiatives, and increased legal actions by IPLCs, the document argues that a fundamental realignment of economic pathways and incentives is required to protect intact forests.

• Infrastructure and extractive industries act as catalysts for further forest loss by providing access to remote areas, making other deforesting activities more economically viable. While agriculture is the primary driver of tropical forest loss (over 70%), infrastructure and extractives directly cause 10% and 7% of such loss, respectively.
• Global investment in infrastructure is projected to reach USD 78.8 trillion by 2040, with the potential for 25 million kilometers of new roads to be constructed by 2050, increasing pressure on protected areas, Indigenous territories, and intact forests.
• Several systemic barriers hinder forest protection, including the exclusion of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) from decision-making, a lack of transparency among financial actors and governments, and the continued flow of finance toward destructive activities without sufficient safeguards.
• While there are signs of progress—such as the G7's May 2021 commitment to recognize mining and infrastructure as deforestation drivers and the World Bank's Forest-Smart Mining initiative—these actions do not yet provide robust protection for forests.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2022). Reduce forest impacts from infrastructure and extractive industries. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Extractive-industries-and-infrastructure-Progress-since-2014.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Reduce forest impacts from infrastructure and extractive industries. 2022. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Extractive-industries-and-infrastructure-Progress-since-2014.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Reduce forest impacts from infrastructure and extractive industries |date=February 2022 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Extractive-industries-and-infrastructure-Progress-since-2014.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2022reduce, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Reduce forest impacts from infrastructure and extractive industries}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Extractive-industries-and-infrastructure-Progress-since-2014.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }