Deforestation Success Stories

The report identifies diverse strategies used by developing countries to protect tropical forests, ranging from national-scale policies in Brazil and India to community-led projects in Madagascar and Kenya. It highlights the effectiveness of REDD+ programs, payments for ecosystem services (PES), and governance reforms, while noting that success is often linked to broader socioeconomic development and the use of remote sensing technology for enforcement.

• Brazil achieved some of the world's largest reductions in emissions from land use change, with emissions in this sector falling by a billion tons, a 64 percent drop between 2001 and 2011. This was driven by a combination of the PPCDAm plan, the expansion of indigenous reserves, and the use of remote sensing data to enforce laws.
• Voluntary moratoria in Brazil's soy and beef industries significantly reduced deforestation. By the 2009–2010 crop year, only 0.25 percent of land with soybean crops had been planted in areas deforested since the 2006 soy moratorium began.
• India reversed its deforestation trend starting in the 1990s, with its land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector becoming a net carbon sink that sequestered 177 million tons CO2 eq as of 2007. This was largely achieved through the National Forest Policy Act of 1988 and joint forest management (JFM) programs involving over 106,000 villages.
• In Mexico, the rate of loss of primary forests dropped from over 2 percent annually in the 1990s to 0.13 percent in the 2005–2010 period. While the Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) program often deviated from economic theory by targeting social needs over 'additionality,' it encouraged forest management actions in 94 percent of its sites.
• Vietnam increased its forest area since the 1990s despite strong growth in agricultural exports. This 'smallholder agricultural intensification' transition was supported by the Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) program established in 2004, although approximately 40 percent of the increase is attributed to 'exporting deforestation' (leakage).
• Costa Rica increased its forest cover from just over 20 percent in the late 1980s to more than 50 percent, aiming for total carbon neutrality by 2021. Success was driven by ecotourism, the Forest Law of 1996, and a national Payment for Ecosystem Services Program (PPSA).
• In Madagascar, the Ambositra-Vondrozo Corridor (COFAV) reduced carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 2.2 million tons between 2007 and 2012 by combining strict protected areas with sustainable-use forests and community-led management.
• Kenya's Kasigau Corridor project used voluntary carbon credits to protect 200,000 hectares of woodland. By late 2012, the sale of these credits had generated $1.2 million, which funded direct payments to landowners and community projects like a clothing factory and school classrooms.
• Central Africa's Congo Basin, a 'High Forest, Low Deforestation' (HFLD) region, saw deforestation rates cut in half between the 1990s and 2000s. This is attributed to a combination of new forest management policies and socioeconomic shifts, such as urbanization and a decline in rural agriculture driven by oil and mineral wealth.
• El Salvador experienced forest recovery from the 1990s into the 21st century, with woody vegetation growing by 16 percent between 2001 and 2010. This recovery is strongly correlated with the Human Development Index and the influx of remittances from emigrants, with the highest rates of recovery occurring in areas receiving the most remittances.
• Guyana maintained a very low deforestation rate (approximately 0.03 percent annually from 2000 to 2009) through a partnership with Norway. The agreement provides performance-based payments for keeping emissions low while the nation develops.

APA

Boucher, D., Elias, P., Faires, J., & Smith, S. (2014). Deforestation Success Stories. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/deforestation-success-stories-2014.pdf

Chicago

Boucher, Doug, Pipa Elias, Jordan Faires, and Sharon Smith. Deforestation Success Stories. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/deforestation-success-stories-2014.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Boucher |first1=Doug |last2=Elias |first2=Pipa |last3=Faires |first3=Jordan |last4=Smith |first4=Sharon |title=Deforestation Success Stories |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=June 2014 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/deforestation-success-stories-2014.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{boucher2014deforestation, author = {Boucher, Doug and Elias, Pipa and Faires, Jordan and Smith, Sharon}, title = {{Deforestation Success Stories}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/deforestation-success-stories-2014.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }