The Roots of Forest Loss and Forest Governance

The document examines the critical role of forests in climate regulation and biodiversity, noting that 420 million hectares have been lost since 1990. It analyzes the shift from failed attempts at a global forests convention to a polycentric governance system involving the UN Forum on Forests, REDD, and private sector deforestation commitments. The brief highlights the risks of carbon offsets and monoculture plantations, arguing that successful forest protection requires holistic valuation, strong political will, and the alignment of financial incentives.

• Forests are essential for climate stability and biodiversity, covering 31% of global land (4.06 billion hectares) and storing approximately 861 gigatonnes of carbon while sequestering an average of 15.6 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents annually.
• Between 1990 and 2020, an estimated 420 million hectares of forest were lost. While much of this is temporary, over 25% is permanent deforestation, primarily driven by the conversion of tropical forests to agriculture, with beef production pasture expansion accounting for roughly 40% of this loss.
• Global forest governance has evolved from early UN efforts and the divisive 1992 Earth Summit—where a forest convention was rejected due to North-South disagreements over sovereignty and finance—to a polycentric system including the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) and the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030.
• Private sector deforestation commitments and certification schemes (such as the Rainforest Alliance and Forest Stewardship Council) are often poorly implemented and may simply shift deforestation elsewhere or exclude smallholders from markets due to compliance costs.
• The rise of voluntary carbon markets has increased the share of forest projects to 64% of total transaction value in 2020, but these projects face criticism regarding accounting robustness, permanence, and the promotion of biodiversity-poor monoculture plantations.
• Indigenous-held lands, which comprise 25% of the world's land, contain 80% of global biodiversity, yet initiatives like the "30x30" protected areas goal are criticized for potentially replicating colonial legacies of dispossession.
• Effective forest protection requires treating forests holistically, exercising strong political will and enforcement—as seen in Brazil's success in the mid-2000s—and reforming financial incentives so that maintaining forests is more profitable than clearing them.

APA

Abraham,, B. (2022). The Roots of Forest Loss and Forest Governance. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/forest-loss-and-governance

Chicago

Abraham,, Ben. The Roots of Forest Loss and Forest Governance. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/articles/forest-loss-and-governance.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Abraham, |first1=Ben |title=The Roots of Forest Loss and Forest Governance |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=9 May 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/forest-loss-and-governance |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{abraham2022roots, author = {Abraham,, Ben}, title = {{The Roots of Forest Loss and Forest Governance}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/forest-loss-and-governance}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }