NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS ENDORSER PERSPECTIVES REPORT

The New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) Endorser Perspectives Report evaluates progress five years after the 2014 launch of the NYDF. Based on consultations with 84 endorsers, the report finds that while many commitments have been made, global deforestation has accelerated by 44% since 2014, and the world is not on track to meet its collective forest goals. The report identifies critical barriers—including weak governance, insufficient finance, and insecure land tenure—and outlines eight key lessons to transition from high-level commitments to measurable implementation.

• Global forest loss has accelerated significantly since the signing of the New York Declaration on Forests in 2014, with deforestation increasing by 44%. Annual forest loss is now equivalent in size to the United Kingdom, and these losses account for the entirety of the European Union's 2017 emissions.
• Implementation of deforestation-free commitments is hindered by systemic barriers that require multi-sectoral solutions. These include distorted forest valuations favoring short-term profit, continued subsidies that drive deforestation, and a lack of institutional alignment between high-level pledges and operational frameworks.
• Governance and policy act as both the primary enabling condition and the primary barrier to progress. While strong political will and rule of law catalyze action, barriers such as corruption, lack of transparency, and the discontinuity of policies during government administration changes stall implementation.
• Secure land tenure is a fundamental precondition for sustainable forest management and the elimination of conflict. Although indigenous and local communities steward 25% of the world's natural carbon stock and over 50% of the world's land, only 10% of this land is formally recognized by national laws.
• There is a severe imbalance in forest finance, where investments in drivers of forest loss far outweigh investments in protection. Since 2010, USD 777 billion was spent on drivers of forest loss compared to only USD 20 billion for protection, restoration, and sustainable development.
• Corporate progress toward deforestation-free supply chains is limited by technical challenges in traceability and transparency. While 80% of consulted companies have action plans and 75% have high-level adoption, many struggle to trace complicated supply chains and engage smallholder suppliers.
• Nature-based solutions provide significant societal and climate benefits, but these values are not fully internalized by the governments and corporations driving forest loss. This leads to a distorted valuation of forests and missed opportunities to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Multi-stakeholder partnerships are essential for building cross-sector trust and implementing forest commitments. Approximately one-third of consulted endorsers are already partnering with other NYDF endorsers to share lessons and coordinate action.

APA

DeSantis, N., Ervin, J., Craig, M., Marx, M., Paz, C., & Kantcheva, N. (2019). NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS ENDORSER PERSPECTIVES REPORT. Forest Declaration Assessment. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NYDF-Endorser-Perspectives-Report_EN.pdf

Chicago

DeSantis, Nicole, Jamison Ervin, Madeline Craig, Meredith Marx, Clea Paz, and Nina Kantcheva. NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS ENDORSER PERSPECTIVES REPORT. Forest Declaration Assessment, 2019. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NYDF-Endorser-Perspectives-Report_EN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=DeSantis |first1=Nicole |last2=Ervin |first2=Jamison |last3=Craig |first3=Madeline |last4=Marx |first4=Meredith |last5=Paz |first5=Clea |last6=Kantcheva |first6=Nina |title=NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS ENDORSER PERSPECTIVES REPORT |publisher=Forest Declaration Assessment |date=September 2019 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NYDF-Endorser-Perspectives-Report_EN.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{desantis2019new, author = {DeSantis, Nicole and Ervin, Jamison and Craig, Madeline and Marx, Meredith and Paz, Clea and Kantcheva, Nina}, title = {{NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS ENDORSER PERSPECTIVES REPORT}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NYDF-Endorser-Perspectives-Report_EN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }