Finance for Forests Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Goals 8 and 9 Assessment Report

The report finds that 'green finance' aligned with forest and climate goals is severely insufficient, totaling roughly USD 20 billion since 2010, and is dwarfed by 'grey finance'—investments in agricultural drivers of deforestation—which amounts to USD 777 billion. While results-based REDD+ payments have mobilized over USD 4.1 billion, disbursements remain limited. The authors argue that achieving zero deforestation by 2030 requires a dramatic shift of existing financial flows away from deforestation drivers toward sustainable land use and the strengthening of private sector ESG policies.

• Total 'green finance' committed since 2010 for Goals 8 and 9 is approximately USD 20 billion, an amount the report describes as 'insufficient' and 'marginal' compared to the USD 777 billion in 'grey finance' for the land sector that is not clearly aligned with forest and climate goals.
• International public mitigation-related development finance for the forestry sector is disproportionately low; out of USD 167 billion committed globally for all sectors, only USD 3.6 billion was allocated to forestry, with 65 percent (USD 2.3 billion) going to key deforestation countries.
• Public international finance for agriculture in deforestation countries (USD 87 billion) is nearly 40 times greater than the mitigation finance provided to the forestry sector in those same countries.
• Domestic government subsidies for key deforestation drivers in Indonesia and Brazil alone are estimated at roughly USD 276 billion for soy, palm oil, beef, and timber.
• Private 'green' investment in sustainable commodity production and conservation in Latin America, Asia, and Africa is estimated at USD 2.7 billion, which is a small fraction of the USD 414 billion in private capital stocks held in 'business as usual' farming, forestry, and fisheries in deforestation countries.
• Results-based REDD+ finance commitments from multilateral and bilateral institutions exceed USD 4.1 billion, but disbursements are concentrated; Norway's bilateral agreement with Brazil represents the largest disbursement at over USD 1.1 billion.
• Private financial institutions are adopting deforestation risk policies, but they are often non-mandatory and lack transparency; for example, only a small share of banks in the Asia-Pacific region apply ESG policies to their entire portfolio and all clients.
• Jurisdictional and preferential sourcing initiatives are emerging as a way to scale zero-deforestation commitments, with 34 active programs spread across Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
• India has implemented a domestic fiscal tool for forest conservation by assigning 7.5 percent of tax receipts devolved to states based on forest cover criteria.

APA

Haupt, F., Streck, C., Watson, C., Schulte, I., & Behm, K. (2017). Finance for Forests Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Goals 8 and 9 Assessment Report. Forest Declaration Assessment. https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2017_NYDF_Goal8-9-Assessment_Full.pdf

Chicago

Haupt, Franziska, Charlotte Streck, Charlene Watson, Ingrid Schulte, and Katharina Behm. Finance for Forests Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Goals 8 and 9 Assessment Report. Forest Declaration Assessment, 2017. https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2017_NYDF_Goal8-9-Assessment_Full.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Haupt |first1=Franziska |last2=Streck |first2=Charlotte |last3=Watson |first3=Charlene |last4=Schulte |first4=Ingrid |last5=Behm |first5=Katharina |title=Finance for Forests Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Goals 8 and 9 Assessment Report |publisher=Forest Declaration Assessment |date=24 October 2017 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2017_NYDF_Goal8-9-Assessment_Full.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{haupt2017finance, author = {Haupt, Franziska and Streck, Charlotte and Watson, Charlene and Schulte, Ingrid and Behm, Katharina}, title = {{Finance for Forests Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests Goals 8 and 9 Assessment Report}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2017_NYDF_Goal8-9-Assessment_Full.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }