PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS

The report finds that progress toward reducing deforestation from infrastructure, extractive industries, and basic-needs activities is slow. While some governments and companies have adopted policies and commitments, implementation is often weak, transparency is limited, and large-scale development projects continue to threaten intact forests. The report emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift toward alternative development pathways and the empowerment of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

• The rate of natural forest loss has increased since 2014, failing to meet the NYDF Goal 1 target of halving the loss by 2020.
• Infrastructure is estimated to be directly responsible for 9% to 17% of deforestation in tropical and subtropical forest countries.
• Mining is the fourth-largest driver of deforestation, accounting for approximately 7% of global forest loss.
• Approximately 18% of global forests are designated as protected areas, but over 32% of these areas face intense pressure from illegal or informal activities.
• Corporate transparency in the extractive sector is very limited; only 23 out of 225 companies invited to disclose forest impacts to CDP in 2019 and 2020 did so.
• The number of people engaged in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has more than tripled since 1999, growing from 13 million to over 40 million.
• Subsistence agriculture is estimated to be responsible for one-third of deforestation in the tropics.
• REDD+ initiatives have mobilized at least USD 7.6 billion in public finance, but many programs remain in early stages and few countries have received payments for results.
• The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) poses significant risks to biodiversity, with corridors potentially intersecting 1,738 important bird areas and 46 biodiversity hotspots.
• Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are critical stewards of forests, with their legally owned lands linked to lower rates of deforestation and better biodiversity conservation.
• Environmental defenders in the extractive sector faced the highest number of murders in 2019, totaling 50 deaths.
• In the Congo Basin, tree cover loss rates have doubled over the last two decades, with small-scale agriculture and charcoal production driving 84% of canopy forest loss between 2000 and 2014.
• In Indonesia, the area under palm oil cultivation grew from 300,000 hectares in 1980 to 14.7 million hectares in 2019.
• In the Western Amazon, planned road construction over the next 5 years could cause the deforestation of approximately 2.4 million hectares over 20 years.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2020). PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2020NYDFReport-low-res.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS. 2020. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2020NYDFReport-low-res.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS |date=November 2020 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2020NYDFReport-low-res.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2020progress, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{PROGRESS ON THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2020NYDFReport-low-res.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }