Strengthen forest governance and empower communities

The document reports that improvements in forest governance are too slow to measurably reduce deforestation, noting that illegal deforestation increased from 49% to 69% between 2014 and 2020. While some progress has been made in establishing environmental frameworks and demand-side regulations, systemic challenges such as corruption, weak rule of law, and a failure to legally recognize IPLC land rights persist. The report highlights that weak forest governance causes over USD 17 billion in annual economic losses and calls for accelerated action to address legal weaknesses and enhance the participation of women and IPLCs in decision-making.

• Forest governance improvements have not been fast enough to measurably reduce deforestation, and illegal deforestation rose from 49% to 69% in the seven years following the launch of the New York Declaration on Forests.
• Weak forest governance results in significant economic damage, with estimated annual losses exceeding USD 17 billion due to tax evasion, loss of ecosystem functions, and conflicts with forest communities.
• Despite some growth in legally recognized land rights for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs)—increasing from 11% in 2002 to 15% in 2017 across 41 countries—a 2020 analysis of 42 countries indicates that only about half of IPLC-covered lands are legally recognized.
• Progress has been made in legal frameworks and international cooperation, including the adoption of the Escazú Agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean, the seizure of USD 1.5 billion in illegal timber between 2012 and 2017, and the implementation of demand-side regulations in Asian economies such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Vietnam.
• Systemic governance challenges persist, particularly in countries with weak rule of law, characterized by high corruption, limited resources for enforcement agencies, and inconsistencies within forest legislation.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2022). Strengthen forest governance and empower communities. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Forest-Governance-Progress-since-2014.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Strengthen forest governance and empower communities. 2022. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Forest-Governance-Progress-since-2014.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Strengthen forest governance and empower communities |date=January 2022 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Forest-Governance-Progress-since-2014.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2022strengthen, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Strengthen forest governance and empower communities}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Forest-Governance-Progress-since-2014.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }