Looking Back on 5 Years of Forest Outcomes

Nigel Sizer reviews five years leading WRI's forest program, highlighting the creation of Global Forest Watch and the Global Restoration Initiative. He notes the role of technology in monitoring deforestation and the commitment of private sector companies to deforestation-free supply chains. Looking forward, he identifies the need for scalable solutions, improved certification standards, and expanded land rights for indigenous communities and poor farmers.

• WRI and over 200 partners, including Google, USAID, and the University of Maryland, developed Global Forest Watch, a system providing near-real-time, high-resolution monitoring of global forests and land use to increase accountability for resource management.
• WRI helped catalyze restoration partnerships in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Specifically, the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) involves 10 nations committing to restore 31 million hectares, and Initiative 20x20 involves over a dozen regions and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean pledging to restore over 27 million hectares.
• The private sector has increased its involvement in forest conservation, with hundreds of companies committing to deforestation-free supply chains. Major companies such as Unilever and Cargill utilize Global Forest Watch to assess supplier risk, and impact investors have provided nearly $1 billion for restoration in Africa and Latin America.
• Future priorities for forest conservation include improving the implementation standards of certification systems like the Sustainable Agriculture Network and the Forest Stewardship Council, leveraging technology for quality assurance, and expanding formal land and resource rights for indigenous communities and poor farmers.

APA

Sizer, N. (2016). Looking Back on 5 Years of Forest Outcomes. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/insights/looking-back-5-years-forest-outcomes

Chicago

Sizer, Nigel. Looking Back on 5 Years of Forest Outcomes. World Resources Institute, 2016. https://www.wri.org/insights/looking-back-5-years-forest-outcomes.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Sizer |first1=Nigel |title=Looking Back on 5 Years of Forest Outcomes |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=29 January 2016 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/looking-back-5-years-forest-outcomes |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{sizer2016looking, author = {Sizer, Nigel}, title = {{Looking Back on 5 Years of Forest Outcomes}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2016}, month = jan, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/looking-back-5-years-forest-outcomes}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }