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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.

This executive summary evaluates progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), focusing on the relationship between forest governance and deforestation. It concludes that while some progress has been made in transparency and law enforcement, governance improvements are too slow to significantly reduce deforestation, with critical failures remaining in the recognition of indigenous rights and the prevalence of corruption.

This executive summary evaluates progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which focuses on strengthening forest governance, transparency, and the rule of law while empowering indigenous peoples and local communities. The report finds that while some progress has been made in transparency and law enforcement, improvements are too slow to measurably reduce deforestation, and significant challenges remain regarding corruption, illegal logging, and the violation of land rights.

This executive summary evaluates progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), focusing on forest governance, the rule of law, and the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. It concludes that while some progress has been made in transparency and law enforcement, improvements are too slow to quantifiably reduce deforestation, with significant gaps remaining in land rights and the protection of environmental defenders.

This policy brief evaluates progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which focuses on improving forest governance, transparency, and the rule of law while empowering indigenous peoples and local communities. The report concludes that while some progress has been made in transparency and demand-side measures, governance improvements are too slow to effectively reduce deforestation, and violence against land defenders is increasing.

This executive summary evaluates progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), focusing on forest governance, the rule of law, and the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. It concludes that while some progress has been made in transparency and international cooperation, governance improvements are too slow to measurably reduce deforestation, which continues at an alarming rate.

The 2018 NYDF Assessment executive summary states that forest governance improvements are too slow to measurably reduce deforestation. While some progress has been made in transparency and law enforcement, critical failures remain regarding the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, increasing violence against forest defenders, and rampant corruption.

The 2018 Goal 10 Assessment evaluates the state of forest governance, highlighting that slow improvements in institutional strength, the rule of law, and the recognition of indigenous land rights continue to hinder efforts to reduce deforestation.

The 2018 New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) Progress Assessment Goals Summary reports that the world is not on track to meet Goal 1, which aims to halve the rate of natural forest loss globally by 2020 and end it by 2030. While net forest loss has declined when accounting for regrowth, gross tree cover loss has increased, and tropical deforestation emissions have risen, peaking in 2016.

This report summarizes progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which focuses on strengthening forest governance, transparency, and the rule of law, while empowering indigenous peoples and local communities. It details developments in producer and consumer countries regarding illegal timber trade, the rising violence against environmental defenders, and the status of financial resources and data collection for land tenure security.

The 2018 NYDF Progress Assessment finds that while corporate commitments to deforestation-free supply chains are increasing—particularly in palm oil and timber—they remain highly variable in ambition and scope. Traceability systems are improving, and new jurisdictional initiatives in Brazil and Indonesia show promise, but financial institutions lag in addressing portfolio risks. Direct data on deforestation reduction is currently lacking, though new tools like Trase and Global Forest Watch–Commodities are being developed to fill this gap.

This report assesses progress toward Goal 3 of the New York Declaration on Forests: significantly reducing deforestation derived from economic sectors other than agriculture by 2020. It highlights the roles of infrastructure and mining as primary drivers of forest loss and identifies critical data gaps that prevent a global aggregate assessment of these impacts.

This report assesses progress toward Goal 4 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which focuses on supporting alternatives to deforestation driven by basic needs, such as subsistence farming and fuelwood collection. The document highlights a significant lack of aggregate global data to measure progress, relying instead on proxy indicators like the distribution of clean cookstoves and related financial funding.

This report assesses progress toward Goal 5 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which aims to restore 150 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands by 2020 and an additional 200 million hectares by 2030. The assessment focuses on pledges made under the Bonn Challenge and commitments within Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC.

The report finds that while the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include an ambitious target to 'halt deforestation', the finalized indicators fail to measure gross forest loss or specific restoration efforts. By focusing on net deforestation, the framework weakens the practical application of conservation targets and lacks quantifiable metrics for reforestation and afforestation.

This report assesses progress toward Goal 7 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which focuses on integrating forest-related mitigation measures into post-2020 global climate agreements. It specifically evaluates the operationalization of REDD+ financing through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the inclusion of land-use targets in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

This report assesses progress toward Goal 8 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which focuses on providing support for strategies to reduce forest emissions. The assessment highlights a significant imbalance between 'green' finance aligned with forest goals and 'grey' finance that potentially drives deforestation, noting that international public and private investments in sustainable forestry remain insufficient compared to the scale of the challenge.

This report summarizes progress toward Goal 9 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which focuses on rewarding countries and jurisdictions that reduce forest emissions through public policies, results-based payments, and private-sector commodity sourcing.

The 2018 Progress Assessment Goal 4 Update evaluates efforts to support alternatives to deforestation driven by basic human needs, such as subsistence farming and woodfuel use. While the distribution of clean cookstoves has increased significantly, financial support for woodfuel interventions has declined. The report highlights various regional case studies in the Amazon, West Africa, and Southeast Asia that employ sustainable landscape approaches and community-based management to alleviate poverty and protect forests.

The 2018 Progress Assessment Goal 5 Update evaluates global efforts to restore degraded landscapes and forestlands under the Bonn Challenge and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of the Paris Agreement. It reports that Bonn Challenge pledges have reached 168.9 million hectares, surpassing the initial 2020 milestone of 150 million hectares, although measuring actual implementation remains a significant challenge.