Goal 10 assessment: Strengthening governance and empowering communities

The 2020 assessment of Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) finds that global progress in forest governance remains slow, with weak legal frameworks and limited enforcement continuing to drive deforestation. While some countries have implemented positive measures—such as Indonesia's permanent Forest and Peatland Moratorium and the regional Pacto de Leticia in the Amazon—these are offset by deregulation in countries like Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. The report highlights a critical gap in land tenure, noting that only about half of the lands customarily held by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are legally recognized. Furthermore, violence against environmental defenders reached a record high in 2019, with 212 killings reported globally.

• Global progress in strengthening forest governance is slow, characterized by weak legal frameworks and limited improvements in halting corruption and enforcement. Illegalities remain a primary driver of deforestation, particularly where commercial agriculture causes forest conversion.
• Several countries have actively weakened their forest protection frameworks. In Bolivia, Supreme Decree 3973 opened millions of hectares for agricultural expansion, including 4.5 million hectares in Beni. In Peru, legislation in the Ucayali department removed safeguards for 3.5 million hectares of production forests. Brazil has seen significant deregulation, including a proposed bill that could provide amnesty to illegal land grabbers, potentially incentivizing the clearing of 1.6 million hectares by 2027.

APA

Hermann, B., & Conway, D. (2020). Goal 10 assessment: Strengthening governance and empowering communities. Forest Declaration Assessment. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020NYDFGoal10.pdf

Chicago

Hermann, Barbara, and Darragh Conway. Goal 10 assessment: Strengthening governance and empowering communities. Forest Declaration Assessment, 2020. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020NYDFGoal10.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hermann |first1=Barbara |last2=Conway |first2=Darragh |title=Goal 10 assessment: Strengthening governance and empowering communities |publisher=Forest Declaration Assessment |date=November 2020 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020NYDFGoal10.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hermann2020goal, author = {Hermann, Barbara and Conway, Darragh}, title = {{Goal 10 assessment: Strengthening governance and empowering communities}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020NYDFGoal10.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }