SYLLABUS

GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context: The Forest Declaration Assessment 2026 reported a 15% decline in global deforestation in 2025, but the world remains off track to achieve the 2030 goal of halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation.

About the Report

• Title: Forest Declaration Assessment 2026: Tracking Progress on 2030 Forest Goals.

• Published by: Published by Forest Declaration Assessment Partners, coordinated and edited by Climate Focus.

• Objective: To assess global progress towards the 2030 forest goals, covering deforestation, forest degradation, ecological integrity, restoration, climate finance and forest governance.

Key Findings of the Report

• Global Deforestation and Forest Degradation:

• Deforestation shortfall: The world accumulated a shortfall of 10.7 million hectares in deforestation reduction since 2021, compared with the reductions required to meet the 2030 target.
• Ecological degradation: Around 65.4 million hectares of forest were downgraded to a lower ecological integrity category in 2024.
• Forest degradation: Degradation in tropical moist forests declined to 3.5 million hectares in 2025, a 34% reduction.

• Uneven Regional Progress:

• Tropical Latin America and the Caribbean: Deforestation fell to 33% below the 2018–2020 baseline, although the Amazon rainforest is approaching a warming threshold that could trigger major ecological changes.
• Tropical Africa: Deforestation continued to rise, moving further off track against its 2030 pathway.
• Tropical Asia: Deforestation remained broadly unchanged, with its underlying drivers largely unresolved.

• Restoration and Commodity-Driven Deforestation:

• Forest restoration: Approximately 11.8 million hectares were under active restoration, representing nearly 6% of estimated global reforestation potential.
• Commodity-driven deforestation: It declined to 6.01 million hectares in 2025, compared with 7.24 million hectares during 2018–2020, but remained above the pathway required to eliminate commodity-driven deforestation by 2030.
• Non-forest ecosystems: Conversion of grasslands and other non-forest ecosystems affected an estimated 9–13 million hectares annually.

• Corporate Commitments and Climate Finance:

• Corporate accountability: Only 29% of Forest 500 companies had comprehensive zero-deforestation commitments, while 14 major companies weakened or withdrew commitments in 2025.
• Science-based targets: Companies adopting Science Based Targets initiative Forest, Land and Agriculture (SBTi FLAG) targets doubled in 2025, reaching 461 by June 2026.
• Climate finance: Forest protection and restoration received approximately $6 billion (0.3% of global climate finance) in 2024, including $5.26 billion from public and $750 million from private sources.
• Harmful subsidies: Governments spent an estimated $410 billion annually on potentially harmful agricultural subsidies during 2022–2024 and $921 billion on fossil fuel subsidies in 2024.

• Indigenous Rights and Protected Areas:

• Land rights: Indigenous Peoples and local communities held customary rights over 5.5 billion hectares, but only one billion hectares were legally recognised; the commitment aims to recognise rights over 160 million hectares.
• National climate plans: Of 84 NDC submissions, 61 mentioned underrepresented groups, but many lacked concrete provisions for participation, land rights and equitable benefit-sharing.
• 30-by-30 target: Protected areas covered 17.33% of global land and inland waters, below the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework target of 30% by 2030.

Key Recommendations:

• Strengthen forest governance: Enforce forest protection laws, improve monitoring and address illegal deforestation and forest degradation.

• Scale up restoration: Expand restoration of degraded forests and protect grasslands and other non-forest ecosystems from conversion.

• Mobilise climate finance: Increase public and private investment in forest conservation and restoration while redirecting environmentally harmful subsidies.

• Ensure corporate accountability: Strengthen zero-deforestation commitments, establish transparent supply chains and track measurable progress towards 2030 targets.

• Recognise community land rights: Legally recognise customary rights, ensure meaningful participation and uphold free, prior and informed consent and equitable benefit-sharing.

• Accelerate the 30-by-30 target: Expand and effectively manage protected areas to conserve at least 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas by 2030.