Strengthen forest governance and empower communities

This fact sheet evaluates progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which focuses on strengthening forest governance, transparency, and the rule of law while empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). The document reports that while some legal frameworks and demand-side regulations have improved, overall progress is too slow to measurably reduce deforestation, with illegal deforestation increasing from 49% to 69% over a seven-year period.

• Weak forest governance results in significant economic losses, estimated at more than USD 17 billion annually, driven by tax evasion, the loss of ecosystem functions, and conflicts with forest communities.
• Despite the launch of the NYDF, improvements in forest governance have not yet had a measurable impact on reducing deforestation. Illegal deforestation rose from 49% to 69% in the seven years following the NYDF launch, and violence against land and forest defenders has increased, with killings ranging from 116 in 2014 to 227 in 2020.
• Global progress in legal frameworks is evident, with 176 countries having environmental frameworks and 164 having cabinet-level bodies for environmental protection as of 2019. Additionally, 150 countries have embedded environmental protection or the right to a healthy environment in their constitutions.
• International cooperation and demand-side regulations have targeted illegal timber. Between 2012 and 2017, enforcement agencies seized USD 1.5 billion worth of timber. Emerging Asian economies—including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Vietnam—have adopted regulations prohibiting the import and sale of illegally harvested timber.
• Legal recognition of land and resource rights for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) remains insufficient. In 41 countries, the amount of forest land where IPLCs have legally recognized rights grew from 11% in 2002 to 15% in 2017. A 2020 analysis of 42 countries indicated that while IPLC lands cover at least 49% of their total land area, only about half of these lands are legally recognized.

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} }