MINING & INFRASTRUCTURE AS DRIVERS OF FOREST LOSS

This briefing paper outlines findings from CDP's forest module of the States and Regions questionnaire regarding the role of regional governments in addressing forest loss driven by mining and infrastructure, as part of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) Goal 3 assessment.

• Infrastructure and mining are significant contributors to global forest loss, with infrastructure accounting for 9% to 17% of tropical and subtropical deforestation and mining acting as the fourth-largest driver, responsible for approximately 7% of global forest loss.
• Data from CDP's States and Regions questionnaire indicates a gap between policy creation and operational implementation. While 50% of reporting governments have forest policies for mining and 73% have them for infrastructure, there is a lack of operational forest management plans and risk assessments.
• Among regional governments reporting on the impacts of mining and infrastructure, the most frequently cited impact of deforestation and forest degradation is the increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Governments manage this through enforcing forest policies, adopting afforestation strategies, and encouraging integrated land-use planning and management.
• In the Piura Region of Peru, deforestation reached nearly 20,000 hectares per year between 1990 and 2015, with mining identified as a driver that led to the displacement of indigenous populations. In response, the region introduced a forest-related policy in 2015 and is conducting feasibility studies for soil conservation, reforestation, and afforestation in the Chira Piura Basin.
• New York State identified infrastructure development and agricultural land conversion as the primary drivers of deforestation between 2012 and 2017. The state utilizes several frameworks, including the State Forest Action Plan, the Open Space Conservation Plan, the State Wildlife Action Plan, and Article XIV of the New York Constitution, to manage these risks.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2021). MINING & INFRASTRUCTURE AS DRIVERS OF FOREST LOSS. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NYDFStates-and-regions.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. MINING & INFRASTRUCTURE AS DRIVERS OF FOREST LOSS. 2021. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NYDFStates-and-regions.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=MINING & INFRASTRUCTURE AS DRIVERS OF FOREST LOSS |date=February 2021 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NYDFStates-and-regions.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2021mining, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{MINING \& INFRASTRUCTURE AS DRIVERS OF FOREST LOSS}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NYDFStates-and-regions.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }