DEFORESTATION FRONTS DRIVERS AND RESPONSES IN A CHANGING WORLD

The report identifies 24 'deforestation fronts' across Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania where over 43 million hectares of forest were lost between 2004 and 2017. It argues that while commercial agriculture, tree plantations, and extractive activities are primary drivers, responses must be tailored to local contexts and integrated across area-based and sector-specific approaches to be effective.

• Between 2004 and 2017, over 43 million hectares of forest were lost within 24 identified 'deforestation fronts', an area comparable in size to Morocco.
• The 24 deforestation fronts cover 710 million hectares, of which half is forested; approximately 45% of the remaining forest in these areas has experienced fragmentation, increasing vulnerability to fire and human intervention.
• Commercial agriculture and tree plantations are the primary global drivers of deforestation, though specific drivers vary by region: cattle ranching and soy dominate in Latin America, while timber and oil palm are primary in Southeast Asia.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, subsistence agriculture is a key driver of forest loss, though commercial agriculture is expanding and small-scale timber extraction for energy contributes to forest degradation.
• Area-based responses, such as protected areas and the recognition of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) tenure rights, are effective at preventing loss within their boundaries but cannot prevent 'leakage' (the displacement of deforestation) to other areas.
• Sector-specific responses, including voluntary certification and zero-deforestation supply chains, have had limited impact at scale and often struggle without supportive national laws and policies.
• Integrated approaches, such as REDD+ and jurisdictional or landscape-based partnerships, aim to combine multiple interventions to achieve sustainable development and low-carbon economies at sub-national scales.

APA

P., P., K., M., N., D., A., S., N., A.-A., P.Y., L., C., A., & A., M. (2020). DEFORESTATION FRONTS DRIVERS AND RESPONSES IN A CHANGING WORLD. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/507/9bsfj8aq5v_deforestation_fronts___drivers_and_responses_in_a_changing_world____8p3if5q.pdf

Chicago

P., Pacheco,, Mo, K., Dudley, N., Shapiro, A., Aguilar-Amuchastegui, N., Ling, P.Y., Anderson, C., and Marx, A. DEFORESTATION FRONTS DRIVERS AND RESPONSES IN A CHANGING WORLD. WWF International, 2020. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/507/9bsfj8aq5v_deforestation_fronts___drivers_and_responses_in_a_changing_world____8p3if5q.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=P. |first1=Pacheco, |last2=K. |first2=Mo, |last3=N. |first3=Dudley, |last4=A. |first4=Shapiro, |last5=N. |first5=Aguilar-Amuchastegui, |last6=P.Y. |first6=Ling, |last7=C. |first7=Anderson, |last8=A. |first8=Marx, |title=DEFORESTATION FRONTS DRIVERS AND RESPONSES IN A CHANGING WORLD |publisher=WWF International |date=2020 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/507/9bsfj8aq5v_deforestation_fronts___drivers_and_responses_in_a_changing_world____8p3if5q.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{p2020deforestation, author = {P., Pacheco, and K., Mo, and N., Dudley, and A., Shapiro, and N., Aguilar-Amuchastegui, and P.Y., Ling, and C., Anderson, and A., Marx,}, title = {{DEFORESTATION FRONTS DRIVERS AND RESPONSES IN A CHANGING WORLD}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/507/9bsfj8aq5v_deforestation_fronts___drivers_and_responses_in_a_changing_world____8p3if5q.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }