Protecting and Restoring Forests

The 2019 NYDF Progress Assessment finds that the world is not on track to meet its 2020 targets to halve tropical deforestation and restore 150 million hectares of degraded land. Global gross tree cover loss increased by 43% since the declaration, with a particularly alarming 44% acceleration in the loss of irreplaceable humid tropical primary forests. While some progress is noted in Indonesia, where primary forest loss dropped by over 30% in 2017-18, overall trends are negative. Restoration efforts are largely occurring outside of natural forests, and only 18% of the 2020 restoration goal has been realized. The report highlights a critical funding gap, noting that 'grey' finance for agriculture is 15 times higher than 'green' finance for forests, and that forest-related climate finance represents only 1.5% of total multilateral commitments. Governance remains a significant barrier, with nearly half of tropical deforestation being illegal and indigenous land rights remaining largely unrecognized.

• The global rate of gross tree cover loss has increased by 43% since the endorsement of the New York Declaration on Forests, moving away from the goal of halving the rate by 2020.
• Loss of irreplaceable humid tropical primary forests has accelerated by 44% since 2014, increasing from 3.0 to 4.3 million hectares per year.
• Annual carbon dioxide emissions from tropical tree cover loss are now equivalent to the total greenhouse gas emissions of the European Union, with 43% of these emissions occurring in primary forests.
• Only 18% of the 2020 goal to restore 150 million hectares of forest landscapes has been realized, with only 26.7 million hectares documented as restored since 2000.
• Restoration efforts are disproportionately occurring outside of natural forests; a pilot study of the Mekong region found that 75% of tree cover gain happened on non-forest lands (croplands, shrublands) compared to 25% inside forests.
• In Indonesia, primary forest loss decreased by more than 30% in 2017 and 2018 compared to the 2002–16 average, attributed to a combination of government moratoria, private sector action, and wetter weather.
• Private sector commitments to eliminate deforestation from supply chains are insufficient; only 8% of assessed companies have zero-deforestation commitments that cover all operations and supply chains.
• There is a severe imbalance in financial flows, with 'grey' development finance for agriculture in deforestation countries being 15 times greater than 'green' climate mitigation finance for forestry.
• Forests receive a very small fraction of global climate finance, accounting for less than 1.5% (USD 3.2 billion) of the USD 256 billion committed by developed country donors and multilateral institutions since 2010.
• Forest governance is weak, with approximately 49% of tropical deforestation worldwide continuing to be illegal.
• Indigenous peoples and local communities manage at least 22% of the total carbon stored in forests across 52 tropical and subtropical countries, yet their land rights remain largely unrecognized.
• In the Congo Basin, shifting agriculture is the primary driver of tree cover loss, accounting for 84% of loss in the region and 93% in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2019). Protecting and Restoring Forests. https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2019NYDFReport.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Protecting and Restoring Forests. 2019. https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2019NYDFReport.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Protecting and Restoring Forests |date=September 2019 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2019NYDFReport.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2019protecting, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Protecting and Restoring Forests}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2019NYDFReport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }