FOREST PATHWAYS REPORT 2023

The 2023 Forest Pathways Report by WWF International highlights that the world is off track to meet 2030 goals to halt deforestation, with a 21% divergence from targets in 2022. It identifies a massive funding gap, where approximately US$2.2 billion in annual public forest-positive finance is dwarfed by up to US$1 trillion in environmentally harmful subsidies. The report emphasizes the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, noting that their territories often have lower deforestation rates. It advocates for a shift from single-value carbon offsets to a 'contributions approach' and the repurposing of agricultural subsidies. Case studies from Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, and Australia illustrate specific challenges and successful interventions in forest conservation and restoration.

• The world is not on track to meet the 2030 goal of halting deforestation; in 2022, global forest loss was 4% higher than in 2021, representing a 21% divergence from the required pathway.
• There is a severe imbalance between positive forest finance and harmful subsidies, with annual public forest-positive finance estimated at US$2.2 billion, which is less than 1% of the US$378 billion to US$1 trillion spent on environmentally harmful subsidies.
• Indigenous Peoples and local communities are highly effective forest stewards; their territories in the tropics show a 20% lower rate of deforestation, conversion, and degradation compared to other areas.
• Forest biodiversity is declining sharply, with the average population abundance of 1,428 monitored forest specialist species falling by 79% between 1970 and 2018.
• Agricultural expansion is the primary driver of tropical forest loss, with up to 80% of global deforestation and conversion linked to crops and livestock.
• The voluntary carbon market (VCM) is criticized for allowing companies to use low-quality credits as a substitute for actual decarbonization, leading to a proposed shift toward a 'contributions approach' where investments are made for impact rather than as offsets.
• The illegal timber industry is estimated to be worth nearly US$152 billion annually and can account for up to 90% of tropical deforestation in some countries.
• Global forest restoration is lagging, with only 50-60 million hectares of natural forest regrowing since 2000, while 45% of government pledges to the Bonn Challenge are for monoculture plantations.
• Trade in commodities like soy, palm oil, cocoa, and coffee results in 'outsourced' emissions; in 2021, the embedded GHG emissions from land-use change for these four commodities totaled nearly 392 million tonnes of CO2e.
• The Amazon biome is approaching an irreversible tipping point due to the combined pressures of climate change and deforestation, which could release carbon stores and cause an additional 0.5°C of global warming.

APA

Gagen, M., Dudley, N., Jennings, S., Timmins, H. L., Cantello, W. B., D’Arcy, L., Dodsworth, J., Fleming, D., Kleymann, H., Pacheco, P., Price, F., Amicone, C., Bakhtiar, I., Gajardo, O. B., Benham, C., Bhandari, A. R., Cardozo, I. B., Breukink, G., Criodain, C. O., ... Wau, B. U. E. W. (2023). FOREST PATHWAYS REPORT 2023. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/548/7nxri5veo8_WWF_Forest_Pathways_Report_2023_Web.pdf

Chicago

Gagen, Mary, Nigel Dudley, Steve Jennings, Hannah L. Timmins, William Baldwin- Cantello, Laura D’Arcy, John Dodsworth, et al. FOREST PATHWAYS REPORT 2023. WWF International, 2023. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/548/7nxri5veo8_WWF_Forest_Pathways_Report_2023_Web.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gagen |first1=Mary |last2=Dudley |first2=Nigel |last3=Jennings |first3=Steve |last4=Timmins |first4=Hannah L. |last5=Cantello |first5=William Baldwin- |last6=D’Arcy |first6=Laura |last7=Dodsworth |first7=John |last8=Fleming |first8=Damian |last9=Kleymann |first9=Hermine |display-authors=etal |title=FOREST PATHWAYS REPORT 2023 |publisher=WWF International |date=2023 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/548/7nxri5veo8_WWF_Forest_Pathways_Report_2023_Web.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gagen2023forest, author = {Gagen, Mary and Dudley, Nigel and Jennings, Steve and Timmins, Hannah L. and Cantello, William Baldwin- and D’Arcy, Laura and Dodsworth, John and Fleming, Damian and Kleymann, Hermine and Pacheco, Pablo and Price, Fran and Amicone, Claudia and Bakhtiar, Irfan and Gajardo, Osvaldo Barassi and Benham, Charlotte and Bhandari, Ananta Ram and Cardozo, Ivaneide Bandeira and Breukink, Gijs and Criodain, Colman O and Cronin, Tim and Cunningham, Cleo and Davis, Michael and Elage, Damary and Ellis, Karen and Eghenter, Cristina and Ferreira, Mariana and Francis, Rory and Hurrell, Shaun and Jin, Zhonghao and Engone, Jean-Paul Obame and Junior, Israel Correa do Vale and Lazzari, Lucía and Lotspeich, John and Lozano, Liliana and Lue, Tracey and McGhee, Robin and McRae, Louise and Monges, Carmen and Quadros, Taruhim M.C. and Rayden, Tim and Robledo, Veronica and Rodas, Oscar and Ruiz, Lucia and Avino, Felipe Spina and Symington, Meg and Varela, Victória and Venturi, Daniel and Wau, Bitate Uru Eu Wau}, title = {{FOREST PATHWAYS REPORT 2023}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2023}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/548/7nxri5veo8_WWF_Forest_Pathways_Report_2023_Web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }