FORESTS IN FOCUS

The document reports that the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) failed to meet its 2020 target of halving deforestation, with 10 million hectares of forest lost annually. It identifies drivers of loss including commodity agriculture, extractive industries, and a lack of deforestation policies in nearly two-thirds of the top 150 financial institutions. While noting progress through the Paris Agreement and demand-side measures in markets like the EU, US, UK, and China, it emphasizes the need for alternative development pathways and the inclusion of Indigenous peoples as forest stewards.

• The New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) did not achieve its goal of reducing deforestation by half by 2020, with global forest loss continuing at a rate of 10 million hectares per year, an area comparable to Iceland.
• Deforestation is driven by global demand for commodities and economic growth, specifically seven agricultural commodities—cattle, palm oil, soy, cocoa, rubber, coffee, and wood fiber—which account for more than half of tree cover loss.
• Financial and industrial activities significantly impact forests, with nearly 20% of tropical intact forest landscapes overlapping with oil, gas, and mining concessions, and almost two-thirds of the top 150 financial institutions lacking deforestation policies.
• Progress is being made through the Paris Agreement, REDD+ programs, and demand-side measures in major consumer markets including China, the UK, the US, and the EU to reduce illegal deforestation in imports.
• Despite their role as the most effective stewards of forest lands, Indigenous peoples and local communities continue to face displacement and exclusion from decision-making processes.

APA

Schulte, I., Matson, E. D., Manirajah, S. M., Haupt, F., Maher, R., & Cottle, S. (n.d.). FORESTS IN FOCUS. Forest Declaration Assessment. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Forests-in-Focus-Ch1.pdf

Chicago

Schulte, Ingrid, Erin D. Matson, Sanggeet Mithra Manirajah, Franziska Haupt, Robert Maher, and Sara Cottle. FORESTS IN FOCUS. Forest Declaration Assessment, n.d. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Forests-in-Focus-Ch1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schulte |first1=Ingrid |last2=Matson |first2=Erin D. |last3=Manirajah |first3=Sanggeet Mithra |last4=Haupt |first4=Franziska |last5=Maher |first5=Robert |last6=Cottle |first6=Sara |title=FORESTS IN FOCUS |publisher=Forest Declaration Assessment |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Forests-in-Focus-Ch1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schultendforests, author = {Schulte, Ingrid and Matson, Erin D. and Manirajah, Sanggeet Mithra and Haupt, Franziska and Maher, Robert and Cottle, Sara}, title = {{FORESTS IN FOCUS}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Forests-in-Focus-Ch1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }