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The report finds that while nearly USD 4.7 billion in results-based finance has been committed since 2010, only 35% has been disbursed as of April 2019. It highlights the slow pace of negotiating Emission Reductions Payment Agreements (ERPAs) and a critical funding gap in the implementation phase of REDD+ activities. While forest carbon markets show some growth in voluntary demand, they remain a small fraction of global deforestation emissions. The document also details domestic payment mechanisms in Brazil, Colombia, and Costa Rica, and outlines various forms of support for jurisdictional-sourcing initiatives.

The 2019 NYDF Progress Assessment finds that the world is not on track to meet its 2020 targets to halve tropical deforestation and restore 150 million hectares of degraded land. Global gross tree cover loss increased by 43% since the declaration, with a particularly alarming 44% acceleration in the loss of irreplaceable humid tropical primary forests. While some progress is noted in Indonesia, where primary forest loss dropped by over 30% in 2017-18, overall trends are negative. Restoration efforts are largely occurring outside of natural forests, and only 18% of the 2020 restoration goal has been realized. The report highlights a critical funding gap, noting that 'grey' finance for agriculture is 15 times higher than 'green' finance for forests, and that forest-related climate finance represents only 1.5% of total multilateral commitments. Governance remains a significant barrier, with nearly half of tropical deforestation being illegal and indigenous land rights remaining largely unrecognized.

The 2019 NYDF Progress Assessment finds that the world is not on track to meet its 2020 targets to halve tropical deforestation and restore 150 million hectares of degraded land. While some regional successes exist, such as a reduction in primary forest loss in Indonesia, global gross tree cover loss has increased by 43% since 2014. The report highlights a critical gap in finance, noting that 'green' finance for forests is dwarfed by 'grey' finance for agriculture, and argues that current corporate and government actions are too isolated and lack the ambition needed for systemic change.

The briefing argues that empowering forest-linked communities is essential for forest protection and is most effectively achieved through tiered organizational structures that aggregate strength-in-numbers. While some progress has been made in recognizing indigenous and local community rights, overall empowerment in rural areas remains constrained by land fragmentation, gender inequality, and insufficient access to finance. The document highlights successful innovations in business development and policy advocacy from the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) and warns that while digital technologies offer new market opportunities, they may also facilitate commercial land acquisition that threatens community assets.

The report finds that while some progress has been made, the world is not yet on track to achieve the 2020 climate turning point. Progress is uneven across the six milestones, with most outcomes designated as having insufficient or off-track progress, though some areas like shipping and public climate finance are on track.

The document evaluates the world's collective progress toward six climate milestones in energy, transport, land use, industry, infrastructure, and finance. It concludes that while some progress has been made, the global community is generally not on track to achieve the 2020 climate turning point. The report highlights significant data gaps that hinder accurate tracking and urges governments, businesses, and financial institutions to increase ambition and fulfill commitments to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

An executive summary of the 2020 NYDF Assessment Report, which evaluates progress toward the goals of the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) regarding tropical deforestation and landscape restoration.

The report finds that improvements in forest governance are too slow to measurably reduce deforestation, with rampant corruption and illegal land conversion persisting. While some progress has been made in transparency and demand-side timber regulations, significant gaps remain in recognizing the land rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). The document highlights a dangerous increase in violence and criminalization of land defenders and argues that secure tenure for IPLCs is more effective for forest protection than state-managed protected areas.

The assessment finds that the world is not on track to meet the 2020 milestone of halving natural forest loss. While net forest loss declined by 23 percent between 2010-15 compared to a 2000-10 baseline, gross tree-cover loss increased by an average of 35 percent between 2014 and 2016 relative to a 2001-13 baseline. Tropical deforestation emissions rose by 25 percent between 2014 and 2016 compared to the 2001-13 benchmark, with 2016 emissions peaking at 5 gigatons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (Gt CO e). Significant drivers include agricultural expansion for palm oil in Southeast Asia and soy in Latin America, as well as severe droughts and wildfires caused by a strong El Niño event.

The report evaluates global progress in forest governance and land rights, noting a record 182 killings of environmental defenders in 2016. While it highlights positive developments in illegal timber import controls in countries like South Korea, Malaysia, and the US, and the implementation of EU FLEGT agreements in Indonesia and Vietnam, it warns that climate finance for local communities remains insufficient, with only 10 percent reaching the local level in 2016. The document also emphasizes the lack of gender-sensitive provisions in community-based tenure regimes and the ongoing effort to track tenure security via SDG Indicator 1.4.2.

The 2017 update to the New York Declaration on Forests Goal 2 assessment finds that while corporate commitments to reduce deforestation in agricultural supply chains are increasing, their scope and ambition remain variable. Progress is most evident in the palm oil and timber sectors, where certification standards are more prevalent, while the cattle and soy sectors lag behind. Although traceability systems are improving—with 81% of producer companies having them in place by 2016—many companies still struggle to verify if their supply is free of converted High-Conservation-Value (HCV) or High-Carbon-Stock (HCS) forests. Financial institution engagement remains limited, and direct data on the impact of these commitments on deforestation rates is currently unavailable, though new monitoring tools like GFW-Commodities and Trase are being developed.

The report finds that while infrastructure and mining are major drivers of forest loss, a lack of aggregate data prevents a global assessment of progress. It highlights the role of transport networks and mineral extraction in tropical deforestation and details emerging sustainability standards and data initiatives intended to fill these research gaps.

The report highlights a critical lack of aggregate global data to measure progress in reducing deforestation caused by basic needs. It uses the distribution of clean cookstoves and related funding as proxy indicators, noting that while annual distributions reached approximately 20 million, the number of stoves meeting clean and efficient standards declined from nearly 15 million in 2014 to 13 million in 2015. Financial support also showed a downward trend between 2012 and 2015, with Official Development Assistance (ODA) for fuelwood dropping from USD 81 million to USD 3.2 million and carbon offset transactions falling from USD 65 million to USD 15 million.

The report evaluates global forest landscape restoration (FLR) ambitions by tracking pledges under the Bonn Challenge and commitments within Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC. While the 150 million hectare milestone for 2020 was surpassed in May 2017, actual implementation data remains scarce, with reported achievements representing less than 10 percent of the 2020 goal. The document also highlights the role of regional initiatives and new data tools like the Bonn Challenge Barometer and ROAM in improving monitoring and planning.

The assessment finds that Goal 7's indicator for including land-use targets in NDCs has been met, with 116 of 165 countries proposing quantified emission mitigation targets. It also details the Green Climate Fund's (GCF) development of a two-track financing approach for REDD+, including a results-based payments pilot program and funding for early-stage readiness and implementation. However, the report notes that 105 countries have made land-use targets conditional on international financing and that current ambitions may be insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement's temperature goals.

The assessment finds that 'green' finance aligned with forest emission reduction is significantly outweighed by 'grey' finance that potentially drives deforestation. While some middle-income countries invest more domestically in REDD+ than they receive internationally, overall international public finance for forestry remains insufficient. Private sector investment in 'business as usual' farming and forestry is estimated at USD 168 billion annually, and while some financial institutions are adopting deforestation risk policies, transparency and mandatory enforcement remain low. The report suggests that blended finance and public sector tools are necessary to shift private capital toward sustainable land use.

The assessment finds that while over USD 4.1 billion has been committed to results-based REDD+ payments, disbursements remain limited and concentrated, primarily in Brazil. It highlights the emergence of jurisdictional-sourcing initiatives across Asia, Latin America, and Africa as a promising mechanism to scale zero-deforestation commitments, though private resource flows remain small.

The 2018 Progress Assessment for Goal 4 highlights the difficulty in quantifying the impact of basic needs on deforestation due to limited data. While the distribution of clean cookstoves in developing countries nearly doubled between 2015 and 2016, financial support for woodfuel interventions declined. The report identifies several drivers of deforestation linked to poverty, including swidden agriculture, subsistence migration, and charcoal production, and presents case studies from Peru, Guatemala, Brazil, Mexico, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire demonstrating the potential of sustainable landscape approaches, community forestry, and agricultural intensification to reduce forest loss.

The 2018 Progress Assessment for Goal 5 indicates that Bonn Challenge pledges have reached 168.9 million hectares, surpassing the 2020 milestone in terms of pledges. However, actual implementation remains difficult to aggregate, with a five-country sample showing 13.4 million hectares under restoration. Analysis of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) reveals that while 127 of 165 NDCs include forest landscape restoration (FLR) commitments, only 30% are quantifiable. When combining official NDC targets with non-target ambitions, 114 million hectares are reflected, representing one third of the 2030 target.

The report concludes that Goal 6 has been achieved through the adoption of SDG 15, although it notes that the indicators used to measure progress on halting deforestation track net rather than gross loss, which weakens the target's practical application. While the conservation target is considered quantifiable and ambitious, the restoration, afforestation, and reforestation components of SDG 15.2 are not quantifiable.