Comparing Global and National Approaches to Estimating Deforestation Rates in REDD+ Countries

This working paper compares deforestation estimates from 33 national and subnational forest reference emission level (FREL) submissions to the UNFCCC against the Global Forest Change (GFC) tree cover loss data from Hansen et al. (2013). It evaluates the accuracy, cost, and consistency of global monitoring approaches versus national systems to assist climate policymakers in REDD+ countries.

• The Global Forest Change (GFC) tree cover loss data from Hansen et al. (2013) serves as a transparent, consistent, and reasonably accurate proxy for tropical deforestation across all REDD+ countries, and is produced at a significantly lower cost than national forest monitoring systems.
• Discrepancies exist between national and global deforestation estimates at the individual country level. While some differences could be resolved by filtering GFC data to match specific national forest definitions, the exact causes of differences in other cases remain unclear.
• The use of diverse monitoring methods across countries and international organizations creates barriers to cross-country comparisons and causes confusion regarding the accuracy of results, particularly for countries seeking results-based payments for halting deforestation.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Comparing Global and National Approaches to Estimating Deforestation Rates in REDD+ Countries. https://www.wri.org/research/comparing-global-and-national-approaches-estimating-deforestation-rates-redd-countries

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Comparing Global and National Approaches to Estimating Deforestation Rates in REDD+ Countries. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/comparing-global-and-national-approaches-estimating-deforestation-rates-redd-countries.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Comparing Global and National Approaches to Estimating Deforestation Rates in REDD+ Countries |url=https://www.wri.org/research/comparing-global-and-national-approaches-estimating-deforestation-rates-redd-countries |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendcomparing, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Comparing Global and National Approaches to Estimating Deforestation Rates in REDD+ Countries}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/comparing-global-and-national-approaches-estimating-deforestation-rates-redd-countries}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }