<p>You can now easily adjust access to your voice recordings and images within Forest Watcher reports. For step-by-step instructions on how to do this, please refer to our <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/help/forest-watcher/guides/managing-access-to-voice-recordings-and-images-in-reports-on-forest-watcher-web/">new tutorial</a>.</p>


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Sarah Carter

4 Growing Threats to Europe’s Forests: Logging, Bioenergy, Wildfires and Pests

This year's tree cover loss data shows that Europe’s forests face increasing pressures including logging, wildfires, insect outbreaks and wood harvesting to meet changing energy demands.

4 Growing Threats to Europe’s Forests: Logging, Bioenergy, Wildfires and Pests | Forest Insights | Global Forest Watch Blog

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Fred Stolle

Mikaela Weisse

Stientje van Veldhoven

<p>A recent analysis found that tall, mature forests — which are critical for storing carbon and safeguarding biodiversity — are declining significantly in some parts of Europe. This is primarily due to a rise in timber harvesting as well as natural disturbances, such as wildfires and pests, which are often exacerbated by climate change.</p>



<p>There was some good news as well.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425723003486" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The study</a>, from the University of Maryland and WRI in partnership with European researchers, shows that Europe’s total tree cover increased slightly over the last two decades. But that’s not the full story: Some regions within Europe saw significant declines in forest area. And the total amount of&nbsp;<em>tall forests&nbsp;</em>(forests with trees taller than 15 meters) declined by 2.25 million hectares — an area half the size of Denmark. The decline was highest in Nordic countries, which saw a 20% reduction in tall forests, followed by areas in Southeastern Europe. While tall forests have often been replaced with new trees, these can take decades to mature to the point where they provide equivalent climate and ecosystem benefits, meaning overall forest health in these areas is being reduced.</p>



<p>These findings underscore the need for ambitious action on the part of EU countries to protect and maintain existing forests and the vital services they provide. Progress is underway, with a number of new laws aimed at curbing deforestation and forest degradation. But to be successful, these must be informed by timely, robust data on forest health and disturbances. The proposed <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_5909" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Forest Monitoring Framework</a>, issued on November 22, 2023, should support these efforts by ensuring harmonized and improved forest monitoring in Europe — if it mandates comparable and consistent reporting on key forest health indicators throughout the EU.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Europe Lost 2.25 Million Hectares of Tall Forests From 2001-2021</h2>



<p>Between 2001 and 2021, Europe experienced a small net gain in tree cover of around 1%, or 1.5 million hectares. With tree cover declining&nbsp;<a href="https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-extent-indicators/forest-extent#is-global-tree-cover-increasing-or-decreasing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in almost all other areas</a>&nbsp;around the world, this is an important achievement. But despite this overall gain, the findings also show that Europe’s tall forests&nbsp;<em>declined&nbsp;</em>by 3%, or 2.25 million hectares, over the same period. Tall forests were disproportionately affected by an acceleration of forest disturbance in recent years, including both harvesting activities and natural disturbances.</p>



<p>The analysis shows strong variability between regions, with some experiencing significant losses in forest area while others saw more gains. The Nordic region (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland) saw the biggest declines, losing 3.5% of its total forests and 20% of its tall forests over the last two decades.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1950" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/23-11-14-European-Forest-Decline_Insights-no-logo-1-2048x1950.png" alt="Map showing net change in tall tree cover (height greater than or equal to 15 meters) in Europe 2001-2021" class="wp-image-16502" srcset="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/23-11-14-European-Forest-Decline_Insights-no-logo-1-2048x1950.png 2048w, https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/23-11-14-European-Forest-Decline_Insights-no-logo-1-1024x975.png 1024w, https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/23-11-14-European-Forest-Decline_Insights-no-logo-1-768x731.png 768w, https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/23-11-14-European-Forest-Decline_Insights-no-logo-1-1536x1463.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></figure>



<p>The vast majority (around 87%) of tree cover loss was due to intensive timber harvesting — which can take the form of direct felling or salvage logging after a disturbance — as well as natural disturbances like wildfires and insect outbreaks, which are increasing in extent and severity due to climate change.</p>



<p>Most tree cover loss will be temporary as new forest growth in Europe is largely compensating for forest loss in terms of area alone. But tall forests are being cleared at a faster rate than new forests can regrow, leading to a gradual decline in forest height and a reduction of forest services such as carbon storage over time. So while Europe isn’t losing tree cover overall, the health of its forests is declining.</p>



<p>This decline in Europe’s tall forests is a sign that timber harvesting may already exceed rates that can be sustained into the future. With global demand for timber&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc2265en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expected to grow</a>&nbsp;in the coming decades, Europe should heed this warning and take action to avoid running down its precious forest assets.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why Are Tall Forests So Important?</h2>



<p>While most forests in Europe have been intensively managed by humans for centuries, these forests still provide immense value for people and nature.</p>



<p>For one, the carbon storage capacity of trees increases with height and age, meaning the loss of tall trees and a resulting shift toward shorter, younger trees reduces the carbon storage capacity of Europe’s forests. While the full carbon picture is complicated (for example, young forests absorb carbon from the atmosphere at a faster rate than older standing forests),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/forests-absorb-twice-much-carbon-they-emit-each-year" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protecting mature forests</a>&nbsp;is critical for curbing climate change.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="760" height="477" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20_01_21_Carbon_Flux_v2_Graphic_1.png" alt="Illustration: Forests act as both a source and a sink for carbon" class="wp-image-16503"/></figure>



<p>These tall forests also include many of Europe’s old growth forests, which take centuries to grow and cannot be replaced by young, regrowing forests. Old growth forests&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-021-00988-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">play a key role</a>&nbsp;in climate change mitigation by storing large quantities of carbon both in their biomass and in their soil. They provide ecosystem services like protecting soil health and regulating water drainage, and act as a critical refuge for wildlife and biodiversity. They are also a valuable part of cultural heritage for European communities and nations.</p>



<p>Further, even though the last two decades saw a slight increase in tree cover in Europe overall, much of this increase is due to expansion of tree plantations — specifically plantations of non-native tree species such as eucalyptus, black locust and Sitka spruce. This likely has&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.13440" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">negative consequences</a>&nbsp;for ecosystems, such as reduced diversity and abundance of plants and animals, particularly where more diverse natural forests are replaced by monoculture plantations.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">New EU Regulations Could Curb Forest Degradation, but Improved Monitoring Is Needed</h2>



<p>Europe is working to improve forest management and address its contribution to forest loss worldwide through a number of new and developing laws and strategies. These include:</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>The&nbsp;<a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/forest-strategy_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Forest Strategy for 2030</a>:</strong>&nbsp;A strategy to improve the quantity and quality of EU forests and strengthen their protection, restoration and resilience.</li>



<li><strong>The&nbsp;<a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/biodiversity-strategy-2030_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030</a>:</strong>&nbsp;A comprehensive long-term plan to protect nature and reverse ecosystem degradation in the EU.</li>



<li><strong>The proposed&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_23_5662" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Restoration Law</a>:</strong>&nbsp;A binding regulation to restore nature, including putting restoration measures in place for at least 20% of the EU’s land areas and 20% of its seas by 2030.</li>



<li><strong>The&nbsp;<a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/forests/deforestation/regulation-deforestation-free-products_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Deforestation Regulation</a>:</strong>&nbsp;A binding regulation to ensure that certain commodities exported to or placed on the EU market are <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/commodities/satellite-data-eu-regulation-deforestation-free-supply-chains/">deforestation free</a>.</li>
</ul>



<p>These initiatives show progress is moving in the right direction, but they must be supported by improved monitoring and transparency to be most effective. This is the aim of the proposed <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_5909" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Monitoring Framework</a> — a regulatory initiative to ensure that European member states provide detailed, robust and timely information on the condition and management of EU forests, including indicators on their health, quality and trends over time.</p>



<p>With better monitoring, Europe will be able to assess whether its forests are managed sustainably, evaluate the ability of forests to contribute to climate change mitigation and identify priority forests to protect. Monitoring efforts under the framework must be harmonized to allow comparison and understanding across the EU, meaning countries should be responsible for reporting on the same set of indicators. They should also be transparent to encourage public accountability and timely to enable data-based decision making on appropriate time scales.</p>



<p>Forests are crucial to fighting climate change and to protecting ecosystems and biodiversity. To maximize their potential, Europe should look deeper into its forests. Satellite monitoring and data products, like the ones used in this study or through the open-source&nbsp;<a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/">Global Forest Watch</a>, combined with ground-based measurements can support implementation of the Forest Monitoring Framework Regulation and help ensure all of Europe’s forests are on the right track.</p>



<hr> 

<div class="attribute" style="”padding-bottom:" 10px;”="">
 

Originally appeared on <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/european-tall-forest-decline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>. 
 

</div> 

 

<hr>



<style type="text/css"></style>

Timber Harvesting and Climate Change Are Depleting Europe’s Mature Forests

<p>A recent analysis found that tall, mature forests — which are critical for storing carbon and safeguarding biodiversity — are declining significantly in some parts of Europe. This is primarily due to a rise in timber harvesting as well as natural disturbances, such as wildfires and pests, which are often exacerbated by climate change.</p>



<p>There was some good news as well.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425723003486" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The study</a>, from the University of Maryland and WRI in partnership with European researchers, shows that Europe’s total tree cover increased slightly over the last two decades. But that’s not the full story: Some regions within Europe saw significant declines in forest area. And the total amount of&nbsp;<em>tall forests&nbsp;</em>(forests with trees taller than 15 meters) declined by 2.25 million hectares — an area half the size of Denmark. The decline was highest in Nordic countries, which saw a 20% reduction in tall forests, followed by areas in Southeastern Europe. While tall forests have often been replaced with new trees, these can take decades to mature to the point where they provide equivalent climate and ecosystem benefits, meaning overall forest health in these areas is being reduced.</p>



<p>These findings underscore the need for ambitious action on the part of EU countries to protect and maintain existing forests and the vital services they provide. Progress is underway, with a number of new laws aimed at curbing deforestation and forest degradation. But to be successful, these must be informed by timely, robust data on forest health and disturbances. The proposed <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_5909" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Forest Monitoring Framework</a>, issued on November 22, 2023, should support these efforts by ensuring harmonized and improved forest monitoring in Europe — if it mandates comparable and consistent reporting on key forest health indicators throughout the EU.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Europe Lost 2.25 Million Hectares of Tall Forests From 2001-2021</h2>



<p>Between 2001 and 2021, Europe experienced a small net gain in tree cover of around 1%, or 1.5 million hectares. With tree cover declining&nbsp;<a href="https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-extent-indicators/forest-extent#is-global-tree-cover-increasing-or-decreasing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in almost all other areas</a>&nbsp;around the world, this is an important achievement. But despite this overall gain, the findings also show that Europe’s tall forests&nbsp;<em>declined&nbsp;</em>by 3%, or 2.25 million hectares, over the same period. Tall forests were disproportionately affected by an acceleration of forest disturbance in recent years, including both harvesting activities and natural disturbances.</p>



<p>The analysis shows strong variability between regions, with some experiencing significant losses in forest area while others saw more gains. The Nordic region (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland) saw the biggest declines, losing 3.5% of its total forests and 20% of its tall forests over the last two decades.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/23-11-14-European-Forest-Decline_Insights-no-logo-1-2048x1950.png" alt="Map showing net change in tall tree cover (height greater than or equal to 15 meters) in Europe 2001-2021" class="wp-image-16502"/></figure>



<p>The vast majority (around 87%) of tree cover loss was due to intensive timber harvesting — which can take the form of direct felling or salvage logging after a disturbance — as well as natural disturbances like wildfires and insect outbreaks, which are increasing in extent and severity due to climate change.</p>



<p>Most tree cover loss will be temporary as new forest growth in Europe is largely compensating for forest loss in terms of area alone. But tall forests are being cleared at a faster rate than new forests can regrow, leading to a gradual decline in forest height and a reduction of forest services such as carbon storage over time. So while Europe isn’t losing tree cover overall, the health of its forests is declining.</p>



<p>This decline in Europe’s tall forests is a sign that timber harvesting may already exceed rates that can be sustained into the future. With global demand for timber&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc2265en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expected to grow</a>&nbsp;in the coming decades, Europe should heed this warning and take action to avoid running down its precious forest assets.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why Are Tall Forests So Important?</h2>



<p>While most forests in Europe have been intensively managed by humans for centuries, these forests still provide immense value for people and nature.</p>



<p>For one, the carbon storage capacity of trees increases with height and age, meaning the loss of tall trees and a resulting shift toward shorter, younger trees reduces the carbon storage capacity of Europe’s forests. While the full carbon picture is complicated (for example, young forests absorb carbon from the atmosphere at a faster rate than older standing forests),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/forests-absorb-twice-much-carbon-they-emit-each-year" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protecting mature forests</a>&nbsp;is critical for curbing climate change.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20_01_21_Carbon_Flux_v2_Graphic_1.png" alt="Illustration: Forests act as both a source and a sink for carbon" class="wp-image-16503"/></figure>



<p>These tall forests also include many of Europe’s old growth forests, which take centuries to grow and cannot be replaced by young, regrowing forests. Old growth forests&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-021-00988-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">play a key role</a>&nbsp;in climate change mitigation by storing large quantities of carbon both in their biomass and in their soil. They provide ecosystem services like protecting soil health and regulating water drainage, and act as a critical refuge for wildlife and biodiversity. They are also a valuable part of cultural heritage for European communities and nations.</p>



<p>Further, even though the last two decades saw a slight increase in tree cover in Europe overall, much of this increase is due to expansion of tree plantations — specifically plantations of non-native tree species such as eucalyptus, black locust and Sitka spruce. This likely has&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.13440" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">negative consequences</a>&nbsp;for ecosystems, such as reduced diversity and abundance of plants and animals, particularly where more diverse natural forests are replaced by monoculture plantations.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">New EU Regulations Could Curb Forest Degradation, but Improved Monitoring Is Needed</h2>



<p>Europe is working to improve forest management and address its contribution to forest loss worldwide through a number of new and developing laws and strategies. These include:</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>The&nbsp;<a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/forest-strategy_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Forest Strategy for 2030</a>:</strong>&nbsp;A strategy to improve the quantity and quality of EU forests and strengthen their protection, restoration and resilience.</li>



<li><strong>The&nbsp;<a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/biodiversity-strategy-2030_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030</a>:</strong>&nbsp;A comprehensive long-term plan to protect nature and reverse ecosystem degradation in the EU.</li>



<li><strong>The proposed&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_23_5662" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Restoration Law</a>:</strong>&nbsp;A binding regulation to restore nature, including putting restoration measures in place for at least 20% of the EU's land areas and 20% of its seas by 2030.</li>



<li><strong>The&nbsp;<a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/forests/deforestation/regulation-deforestation-free-products_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Deforestation Regulation</a>:</strong>&nbsp;A binding regulation to ensure that certain commodities exported to or placed on the EU market are <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/commodities/satellite-data-eu-regulation-deforestation-free-supply-chains/">deforestation free</a>.</li>
</ul>



<p>These initiatives show progress is moving in the right direction, but they must be supported by improved monitoring and transparency to be most effective. This is the aim of the proposed <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_5909" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Monitoring Framework</a> — a regulatory initiative to ensure that European member states provide detailed, robust and timely information on the condition and management of EU forests, including indicators on their health, quality and trends over time.</p>



<p>With better monitoring, Europe will be able to assess whether its forests are managed sustainably, evaluate the ability of forests to contribute to climate change mitigation and identify priority forests to protect. Monitoring efforts under the framework must be harmonized to allow comparison and understanding across the EU, meaning countries should be responsible for reporting on the same set of indicators. They should also be transparent to encourage public accountability and timely to enable data-based decision making on appropriate time scales.</p>



<p>Forests are crucial to fighting climate change and to protecting ecosystems and biodiversity. To maximize their potential, Europe should look deeper into its forests. Satellite monitoring and data products, like the ones used in this study or through the open-source&nbsp;<a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/">Global Forest Watch</a>, combined with ground-based measurements can support implementation of the Forest Monitoring Framework Regulation and help ensure all of Europe’s forests are on the right track.</p>



<hr> 

<div class="attribute" style="”padding-bottom:" 10px;”="">
 

Originally appeared on <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/european-tall-forest-decline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>. 
 

</div> 

 

<hr>

Timber Harvesting and Climate Change Are Depleting Europe's Mature Forests

A new study found that important tall, mature forests are declining in some parts of Europe due to timber harvesting and climate change.

Timber Harvesting and Climate Change Are Depleting Europe&#8217;s Mature Forests

Data &amp; Tools

Data &amp; Tools | Global Forest Watch Blog

commodities

commodities | Global Forest Watch Blog

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forest quality | Global Forest Watch Blog

Liz Goldman

Tina Schneider

Ruth Nogueron

Monitoring Forest Degradation for the EU Deforestation Regulation Using GFW

Under the EUDR, wood products entering the EU market must be degradation-free. Tools like GFW can help companies monitor for degradation.

Monitoring Forest Degradation for the EUDR | GFW Blog

Caroline Winchester

Anne Rosenbarger

<p><em>This blog is part 1 in a two-part series, and explores how GFW data can help monitor for </em><strong><em>deforestation</em></strong><em> under the EUDR. <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/commodities/monitoring-forest-degradation-eudr/">Read part 2 on </a></em><strong><a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/commodities/monitoring-forest-degradation-eudr/"><em>degradation</em></a></strong><em><a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/commodities/monitoring-forest-degradation-eudr/"> here</a>.</em> </p>



<p>In May 2023, the European Union (EU) adopted a regulation that aims to prevent products and commodities linked to deforestation and forest degradation from being sold in the EU, thereby supporting global efforts to mitigate climate change such as the Paris Agreement and pledges to halt deforestation and degradation made at COP26. Under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), companies must show that commodities placed on the EU market are deforestation- or degradation-free.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The EUDR has a cut-off-date of December 31, 2020, meaning that products and commodities linked to deforestation or forest degradation after that date are not permitted in EU markets. The commodities required to be <em>deforestation-</em>free are cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy and rubber, as well as derived products such as beef and chocolate. Wood and derived products such as furniture must also be <em>degradation-</em>free<em>. </em>(Although rubber is included with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO] definition of a forest, under the EUDR it is considered an agricultural commodity and as such is required to be deforestation- rather than degradation-free.)&nbsp;</p>



<p>To ensure all covered commodities — both imported and domestically produced — are in compliance with the regulation, companies need to monitor supply chains globally to cover any area where commodities that enter the EU market are sourced. The EUDR requires suppliers to provide the geocoordinates of plots of land where relevant commodities and products were produced, and to provide due diligence information for all these locations.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In this blog, we explore the regulation and describe relevant data and tools — specifically those available on Global Forest Watch (GFW) — that companies, governments and others can use to establish whether commodities are deforestation-free, while highlighting areas where new data can improve assessments in the future. We discuss how satellite data can support three monitoring needs: 1. Setting a forest baseline; 2. Tracking deforestation; 3. Mapping commodities.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Before discussing these monitoring needs, we first explore why satellite data is useful. &nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why is satellite data important for monitoring the EUDR?</h2>



<aside id="textbox"> <div><em><b>Sources of satellite data: GFW, GFW Pro and the EU Forest Observatory</b><p></p>The EUDR does not prescribe the use of any specific forest reference data set or platform. Available public maps don’t have legal value, but they can help companies comply with this regulation in assessing deforestation risk – though companies must carry out due diligence as outlined in the regulation.<br><br>

One data platform, GFW Pro, was designed with leading companies and financial institutions to translate geospatial data into actionable insights. GFW Pro users can produce assessments for reporting against commitments and policies based on free and open GFW data. User-friendly workflows guide users to produce reports for their supply chain. Reports can be produced for any location and partners can access secure systems with their user credentials to view reports and provide updated information into the system. GFW Pro has already been used by companies to assess compliance with voluntary commitments and will soon support EUDR compliance assessments. <br><br>

At the same time, new data on forests is being developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, and like all new data sets, this will be considered for integration into GFW to ensure the best data is available to GFW users. <br><br>

The JRC is also developing the EU Forest Observatory to support the implementation of the EUDR by providing scientific evidence regarding global deforestation and forest degradation and related trade. JRC already provides a pan tropical data set on changes in tropical moist forest cover at 30-m resolution based on satellite data. In the future, JRC will integrate 10-m Sentinel satellite data and will provide a forest cover map for 2020 that will be made available on a dedicated web platform. Though promising, this data is not yet available, and there is not yet a precise date for the full operationalization of the Observatory. 
</em></div> </aside>



<p>Forest-related satellite data, such as that available on GFW,&nbsp;allows forests everywhere to be monitored remotely from anywhere in the world. Commodities included in the regulation span large areas, meaning it is not possible to visit every location on the ground. Additionally, historical satellite data shows the status of forests before the cut-off-date.</p>



<p>The EUDR provides definitions of <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32023R1115&qid=1686611894470" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">key concepts</a>, such as forest, deforestation and agriculture, which largely follow the <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-research/global-forest-watch-and-the-forest-resources-assessment-explained-in-5-graphics-2/">United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) definitions</a>. Taken at face value, the definitions used in the EUDR and those used by satellite derived data do not exactly match up. Satellite derived tree cover data is based on biophysical metrics, such as tree height and canopy density, while FAO definitions also use land use criteria. Data users must take steps to match the definitions derived from satellite information to the definitions set out in the EUDR more closely, and we discuss these steps for three monitoring needs:</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Setting a forest baseline</h2>



<p>Understanding the extent of forests as of December 31, 2020, is crucial since the EUDR requires that commodities cannot be sourced from areas that were forested before the cut-off date. The EUDR defines “forest” as:<em> “land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10%, or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ, excluding land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.”</em></p>



<p>The <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?map=eyJkYXRhc2V0cyI6W3siZGF0YXNldCI6InVtZC10cmVlLWhlaWdodCIsIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWUsImxheWVycyI6WyJ1bWQtdHJlZS1oZWlnaHQtMjAyMCJdfSx7ImRhdGFzZXQiOiJwb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyIsImxheWVycyI6WyJkaXNwdXRlZC1wb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyIsInBvbGl0aWNhbC1ib3VuZGFyaWVzIl0sIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWV9XX0%3D&mapMenu=eyJtZW51U2VjdGlvbiI6ImRhdGFzZXRzIiwiZGF0YXNldENhdGVnb3J5IjoibGFuZENvdmVyIn0%3D">tree cover height data</a> available on GFW from the University of Maryland (UMD) is a reasonable proxy. This global data set shows the height of trees (defined as woody vegetation) taller than 3 m within 30-m pixels in the years 2000 and 2020. To better match the EUDR definition, one can apply a 5-m threshold for tree cover height and set a 0.5 hectare minimum mapping unit to the 2020 data, which aligns with the regulation cut-off date. This data only includes tree cover with a canopy cover greater than approximately 23%, however, other data on canopy cover density is available for 2000 and 2010, so could be incorporated to account for lower canopy cover forests.</p>



<p>An even closer approximation of the EUDR’s definition of forest is the natural forest class from the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) <a href="https://www.landcarbonlab.org/news-updates/natural-lands-map-companies-no-conversion-targets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural Lands Map</a>, available on GFW Pro in the coming months. The Natural Lands Map, developed by SBTN and WRI’s Land & Carbon Lab, allows users to identify a baseline of natural forests as of 2020 because it removes <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?map=eyJkYXRhc2V0cyI6W3siZGF0YXNldCI6InRyZWUtcGxhbnRhdGlvbnMiLCJvcGFjaXR5IjoxLCJ2aXNpYmlsaXR5Ijp0cnVlLCJsYXllcnMiOlsidHJlZS1wbGFudGF0aW9ucyJdfSx7ImRhdGFzZXQiOiJwb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyIsImxheWVycyI6WyJkaXNwdXRlZC1wb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyIsInBvbGl0aWNhbC1ib3VuZGFyaWVzIl0sIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWV9XX0%3D&mapMenu=eyJtZW51U2VjdGlvbiI6ImRhdGFzZXRzIiwiZGF0YXNldENhdGVnb3J5IjoibGFuZENvdmVyIn0%3D">plantations and tree crops</a>, as well as trees in urban areas, and integrates local data sources on natural forest where available. Forests are identified as areas greater than 0.5 hectares with trees at least 5 m in height. Companies can use the Natural Lands Map to understand&nbsp;if their production or sourcing activities have caused conversion since 2020 or if their future plans pose a risk of deforestation.</p>



<p>The EUDR definition of forest also includes land that does not currently have tree cover but where trees are able to reach the height and canopy cover thresholds set out in the definition — for example, areas where timber harvesting has left the land temporarily unstocked. This is difficult to map using biophysical metrics derived from satellite data, and as such, GFW’s <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-research/tree-cover-data-comparison/">tree cover height and tree canopy cover data sets</a> and the SBTN natural forest class do not capture land that does not currently have tree cover. Future research using historical tree cover data and the non-natural forest class from the Natural Lands Map could assist in identifying these areas. GFW provides tree cover information from 2000, annual losses thereafter, and gain for specific intervals (e.g., 2000-2020), also at 30 m x 30 m pixels, so these data sets could be used in this context.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tracking deforestation</h2>



<p>The EUDR defines deforestation as<em>: “the conversion of forest to agricultural use, whether human-induced or not.”</em> In the context of the regulation, cattle grazing, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber and soy are considered to be agricultural land use, while timber is not (conversion of natural forest for timber can instead lead to degradation, which is also covered by the EUDR but is outside of the scope of this blog).</p>



<p>The <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?map=eyJkYXRhc2V0cyI6W3siZGF0YXNldCI6InRyZWUtY292ZXItbG9zcyIsIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWUsImxheWVycyI6WyJ0cmVlLWNvdmVyLWxvc3MiXX0seyJkYXRhc2V0IjoicG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiLCJsYXllcnMiOlsiZGlzcHV0ZWQtcG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiLCJwb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyJdLCJvcGFjaXR5IjoxLCJ2aXNpYmlsaXR5Ijp0cnVlfV19&mapMenu=eyJtZW51U2VjdGlvbiI6ImRhdGFzZXRzIiwiZGF0YXNldENhdGVnb3J5IjoiZm9yZXN0Q2hhbmdlIn0%3D">tree cover loss data set</a> from UMD and available on GFW, provided annually at 30-m resolution, is widely used to assess change in forest cover. Novel data sets such as GFW’s near-real-time <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?map=eyJkYXRhc2V0cyI6W3siZGF0YXNldCI6ImludGVncmF0ZWQtZGVmb3Jlc3RhdGlvbi1hbGVydHMtOGJpdCIsIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWUsImxheWVycyI6WyJpbnRlZ3JhdGVkLWRlZm9yZXN0YXRpb24tYWxlcnRzLThiaXQiXX0seyJkYXRhc2V0IjoicG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiLCJsYXllcnMiOlsiZGlzcHV0ZWQtcG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiLCJwb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyJdLCJvcGFjaXR5IjoxLCJ2aXNpYmlsaXR5Ijp0cnVlfV19&mapMenu=eyJtZW51U2VjdGlvbiI6ImRhdGFzZXRzIiwiZGF0YXNldENhdGVnb3J5IjoiZm9yZXN0Q2hhbmdlIn0%3D">integrated deforestation alerts</a> can also enable continuous monitoring and early notifications on possible deforestation, which is important for enforcing the regulation. Combining this forest change data with the Natural Lands Map provides a timely indication of where forest loss is happening.</p>



<p>Neither of these data sets maps deforestation as defined by the regulation since they include some forest losses beyond conversion to the commodity crops listed in the EUDR (e.g., loss due to natural causes and loss of tree cover resulting from forestry activities such as timber harvesting and conversion to plantation forests). However, when combined with detailed commodity sourcing areas provided by companies, these data sets are a reasonable proxy for deforestation since those sourcing areas likely have active agricultural production. Visual assessments of high-resolution satellite images, such as those from Planet and available on GFW, can also be used to identify drivers of deforestation.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mapping commodities</h2>



<p>GFW also has a number of data sets that can help identify which losses are linked to agricultural conversion in the absence of detailed sourcing information. For example, <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?map=eyJkYXRhc2V0cyI6W3siZGF0YXNldCI6InRyZWUtY292ZXItbG9zcy1ieS1kb21pbmFudC1kcml2ZXIiLCJvcGFjaXR5IjoxLCJ2aXNpYmlsaXR5Ijp0cnVlLCJsYXllcnMiOlsidHJlZS1jb3Zlci1sb3NzLWJ5LWRvbWluYW50LWRyaXZlciJdfSx7ImRhdGFzZXQiOiJwb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyIsImxheWVycyI6WyJkaXNwdXRlZC1wb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyIsInBvbGl0aWNhbC1ib3VuZGFyaWVzIl0sIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWV9XX0%3D&mapMenu=eyJtZW51U2VjdGlvbiI6ImRhdGFzZXRzIiwiZGF0YXNldENhdGVnb3J5IjoiZm9yZXN0Q2hhbmdlIn0%3D">dominant drivers of tree cover loss</a> and <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?map=eyJkYXRhc2V0cyI6W3siZGF0YXNldCI6InVtZC1zb3ktcGxhbnRlZC1hcmVhIiwib3BhY2l0eSI6MSwidmlzaWJpbGl0eSI6dHJ1ZSwibGF5ZXJzIjpbInVtZC1zb3ktcGxhbnRlZC1hcmVhIl19LHsiZGF0YXNldCI6InBvbGl0aWNhbC1ib3VuZGFyaWVzIiwibGF5ZXJzIjpbImRpc3B1dGVkLXBvbGl0aWNhbC1ib3VuZGFyaWVzIiwicG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiXSwib3BhY2l0eSI6MSwidmlzaWJpbGl0eSI6dHJ1ZX1dfQ%3D%3D&mapMenu=eyJtZW51U2VjdGlvbiI6ImRhdGFzZXRzIiwiZGF0YXNldENhdGVnb3J5IjoibGFuZENvdmVyIn0%3D">soy planted area</a>.</p>



<aside id="textbox"> <div><em><b>Supporting traceability assessments</b><br><br>Maps of commodities are also useful in support of traceability assessments. To comply with the EUDR, companies first need to trace each unit purchased to a production area. However, supply chains are often large, fluid and complex — particularly when trying to trace back to individual farm levels. Crop maps can help identify where crops are grown and can help verify commodity sourcing location claims, but this is not necessarily straightforward, and additional work must be done to differentiate individual property boundaries, ownership, legal status and supply chain linkages. Indeed, deforestation is just one part of the regulation, which also states that commodities must also be compliant with all relevant applicable laws in force in the country of production (for example, labor laws). These elements will be additional challenges for commodity producers to monitor.
</em></div> </aside>



<p>Maps of commodities can also be useful to verify the geolocation of sourcing areas provided by companies, however, there are several gaps in availability. Many maps are regional; for example, information on cocoa is only available for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00751-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">certain countries</a>, while others have dates preceding the regulation cut-off-date, such as oil palm.</p>



<p>GFW is continuously providing updates to commodity maps and deforestation drivers information. Where commodity data is not available, visual assessments of high-resolution data imagery such as <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?map=eyJiYXNlbWFwIjp7InZhbHVlIjoicGxhbmV0IiwiY29sb3IiOiIiLCJuYW1lIjoicGxhbmV0X21lZHJlc19ub3JtYWxpemVkX2FuYWx5dGljXzIwMjMtMDVfbW9zYWljIiwiaW1hZ2VUeXBlIjoiYW5hbHl0aWMifSwiZGF0YXNldHMiOlt7ImRhdGFzZXQiOiJwb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyIsImxheWVycyI6WyJkaXNwdXRlZC1wb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyIsInBvbGl0aWNhbC1ib3VuZGFyaWVzIl0sIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWV9XX0%3D&mapMenu=eyJtZW51U2VjdGlvbiI6ImRhdGFzZXRzIiwiZGF0YXNldENhdGVnb3J5IjoibGFuZENvdmVyIn0%3D">Planet</a> or similar data can also be used to assess accuracy for locations given by commodity providers to verify that the areas they are sourcing from were already agricultural areas and should not be considered forest.</p>



<p>For example, oil palm has a distinctive star-shaped pattern that is easily identifiable when visually interpreting this high-resolution data. However, it may be necessary to do an on-the-ground visit to areas where good high-resolution data is not available, such as due to cloud cover or where the land use is not clear in the image. Specifically, tree crops covered by the EUDR such as cocoa can be difficult to distinguish from natural forest cover since they are often grown under the canopy of natural forests, which is captured in the satellite images.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The EUDR and beyond</h2>



<p>Enforcement of the EUDR is an important step toward the protection of the world’s forests, and assessments against these requirements can be used to ensure that only deforestation-free commodities are entering the EU market. Although there are challenges to linking satellite data with the requirements of regulations such as the EUDR, a combination of open data sets and tools such as the tree cover loss data, the Natural Lands Map and GFW Pro can be used for transparent reporting against deforestation-free requirements.</p>



<p>However, there are still other challenges related to the EUDR.</p>



<p>Firstly, sellers in the EU market are expected to adopt potentially challenging and expensive monitoring approaches. Sufficient support must be provided to ensure that livelihoods — such as those of the many smallholder farmers and economies relying on these transactions — are protected. GFW’s free and easy-to-use platform makes monitoring data and tools available to those producers, and therefore is an important part of a set of programs and incentives that can support smallholders and prevent them from being excluded from the market.</p>



<p>Secondly, deforestation should be avoided in all forests, not just in areas where deforestation is linked to EU markets. The global nature of GFW’s data sets and the tailored monitoring approaches offered by GFW Pro pave the way for monitoring and enforcing other complimentary regulations and deforestation commitments.</p>



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3 Ways Global Forest Watch Can Support the EU Law on Deforestation-free Supply Chains

Companies and others can use satellite data to help establish whether commodities are deforestation-free as required under the EUDR.

3 Ways GFW Can Support EU Law on Deforestation-free Supply Chains | GFW Blog

Frances Seymour

<p>More than 12 million hectares of tree cover in the tropics was lost in 2020 alone, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-pulse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis of University of Maryland data&nbsp;by WRI</a>. Most alarmingly, that included 4.2 million hectares of previously undisturbed primary&nbsp;tropical&nbsp;forests.</p>



<p>This loss represents a crisis for climate stability and biodiversity conservation, as well as a humanitarian disaster and lost economic opportunity.&nbsp;This analysis now covering 20 years of data shows all that’s been lost — as well as the interventions that work.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">In a year when everything else slowed down, forest loss sped up.</h3>



<p>The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lives and livelihoods around the world, and the global economy contracted by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2021/01/26/2021-world-economic-outlook-update" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">around 3.5%</a>&nbsp;in 2020. Yet despite the economic downturn, the loss of primary tropical forests ticked&nbsp;<em>up</em>&nbsp;by 12% compared to 2019, continuing an upward trend. Pandemic-related lockdowns probably contributed to short-term increases in forest loss in some cases by limiting the mobility of law enforcement officials and forcing urban-rural migration, but the more significant impacts of the pandemic on forests are likely yet to come.</p>



<p>Unless they see alternatives, governments grappling with constrained fiscal resources and high levels of debt will be tempted to cut the budgets of environmental agencies and license new investment projects that could show up in forest loss data in future years. And yet new studies (<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2021/03/19/Building-Back-Better-How-Big-Are-Green-Spending-Multipliers-50264" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.vivideconomics.com/casestudy/greening-the-stimulus-investing-in-nature/" target="_blank">here</a>) are finding that investments in conserving and restoring nature actually provide&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/coronavirus-recovery" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more effective stimulus</a>&nbsp;than traditional measures.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Forests are increasingly falling victim to climate change.</h3>



<p>The most ominous signal from&nbsp;<a href="https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-pulse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the 2020 data</a>&nbsp;is the number and variety of instances in which forests themselves suffered in extreme weather events. In the Amazon, burning now occurs&nbsp;<em>inside</em>&nbsp;the rainforest, rather than just along the recently felled edges. Even wetlands are burning! Global warming and forest loss conspire to create warmer, drier conditions, which in turn render forests more vulnerable to fire and pest infestation. Subsequent burning and decay release more carbon emissions, feeding&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/us-fires-climate-emissions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a vicious cycle</a>.</p>



<p>Nature has been whispering to us about these risks for a long time, but now she is shouting. The longer we wait to both stop deforestation&nbsp;<em>and</em>&nbsp;shift to net-zero emissions trajectories in other sectors, the more likely it is that our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2021/01/forests-carbon-emissions-sink-flux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">natural carbon sinks</a>&nbsp;will go up in smoke.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">20 years of data demonstrate what works.</h3>



<p>Although the overall trends are distressing, what’s happened in a few individual countries inspires confidence that the drivers of deforestation&nbsp;<em>can</em>&nbsp;be defeated.</p>



<p>Indonesia has now reduced deforestation for four years in a row. Favorable weather, low commodity prices and implementation of corporate commitments to get deforestation out of commodity supply chains have undoubtedly contributed to that trend. But the Indonesian government’s effort also deserves credit. In the aftermath of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/02/exploring-indonesias-long-and-complicated-history-forest-fires" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">devastating fires in 2015</a>, the government beefed up fire prevention and monitoring, and expanded moratoria on conversion of primary forests and peatlands.</p>



<p>What’s significant about the Indonesia story is that it’s been driven by a combination of domestic self-interest — avoiding the severe public health and other costs of fires — and international market and financial incentives. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that one of the provinces that experienced a steep drop in tree cover loss in 2020 was East Kalimantan, which just concluded an&nbsp;<a href="http://greengrowth.bappenas.go.id/en/land-based-ghg-emission-reduction-program-milestone-in-east-kalimantan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agreement</a>&nbsp;with the World Bank for up to $110 million in REDD+ finance if the province is successful in bringing down forest-based emissions. The province is also host to one of most mature&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2020.503326/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multisector, multistakeholder initiatives</a>&nbsp;in the country seeking to transition to more sustainable land use. Under a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/indonesias-east-kalimanta_b_10404550" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Green Growth Compact</a>&nbsp;launched in 2016, government agencies, NGOs and the private sector have been coordinating efforts ranging from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2021/benefits-indigenous-community-lands-climate-action" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">securing village rights to forests</a>&nbsp;to protecting high-value forests within oil palm plantations.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What should be done to save forests now?</h3>



<p>These are fragile gains. We’ve seen this movie before. Brazil achieved a huge reduction in deforestation in the Amazon by deploying a suite of proven policy and market interventions, but now we’re witnessing a heartbreaking unraveling of that success: The Brazilian Amazon experienced a&nbsp;<a href="https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-pulse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">15% increase</a>&nbsp;in primary forest loss in 2020 compared to 2019. The policies and rhetoric of the Bolsonaro administration have&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/brazil-guts-agencies-sabotaging-environmental-protection-in-amazon-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crippled environmental agencies and law enforcement</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/bolsonaros-brazil-2019-brings-death-by-1000-cuts-to-amazon-part-one/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">encouraged land-grabbing</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/world/americas/bolsonaro-brazil-amazon-indigenous.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">put indigenous territories at risk</a>.</p>



<p>In the coming months, Indonesia will face rising palm oil prices and pressure to approve forest-risk investments under a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/11/indonesia-omnibus-law-global-investor-letter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">job creation law</a>, even as a&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/09/indonesian-president-signs-3-year-freeze-on-new-oil-palm-licenses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">three-year moratorium</a>&nbsp;on licensing of new oil palm plantations is set to expire this year. For Indonesia to maintain its success and other countries to follow its lead, the voices of domestic constituencies for forest protection need to be amplified. Space must be maintained for independent monitoring and advocacy by civil society.</p>



<p>The international community needs to ramp up incentives for those governments undertaking serious efforts to address deforestation to create a value proposition for staying the course. Such incentives should include preferential market access for forest-risk commodities that are produced legally and sustainably. Governments should be able to count on financial reward and diplomatic recognition for success in bringing down forest-based emissions. They should also have access to the investment funds, debt relief, and technical support they need to embark on genuinely&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/coronavirus-recovery" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">green post-pandemic recovery</a>&nbsp;efforts.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Forest guardians matter</h3>



<p>It’s also important to remember that the forest loss that is visible from satellites has profound impacts on the people and communities on the ground who depend on forests for their health, safety and livelihoods. Their lives matter. What we can see from satellites is that when&nbsp;<a href="https://kayapo.org/tag/indigenous-rights/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">indigenous peoples</a>&nbsp;are present in forests and their rights are strengthened, forest cover is maintained.</p>



<p>Yet the number of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forest defenders being murdered</a>&nbsp;is rising along with the rate of forest loss.</p>



<p>With global climate summits on&nbsp;<a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/conferences/glasgow-climate-change-conference" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate change</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbd.int/meetings/COP-15" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity</a>&nbsp;on the calendar, 2021 is a year for solidarity among governments committed to averting the worst impacts of forest loss. It’s also time for solidarity with the communities risking their lives to save the world’s remaining forests.</p>



<p>Let’s make 2021 the year that we finally muster the political will and financial resources to ensure that their efforts are successful.</p>



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Originally appeared on <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2021/03/2021-must-be-turning-point-forests-2020-data-shows-us-why" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>. 
 

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2021 Must Be a Turning Point for Forests. 2020 Data Shows Us Why

<p>More than 12 million hectares of tree cover in the tropics was lost in 2020 alone, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-pulse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis of University of Maryland data&nbsp;by WRI</a>. Most alarmingly, that included 4.2 million hectares of previously undisturbed primary&nbsp;tropical&nbsp;forests.</p>



<p>This loss represents a crisis for climate stability and biodiversity conservation, as well as a humanitarian disaster and lost economic opportunity.&nbsp;This analysis now covering 20 years of data shows all that’s been lost — as well as the interventions that work.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">In a year when everything else slowed down, forest loss sped up.</h3>



<p>The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lives and livelihoods around the world, and the global economy contracted by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2021/01/26/2021-world-economic-outlook-update" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">around 3.5%</a>&nbsp;in 2020. Yet despite the economic downturn, the loss of primary tropical forests ticked&nbsp;<em>up</em>&nbsp;by 12% compared to 2019, continuing an upward trend. Pandemic-related lockdowns probably contributed to short-term increases in forest loss in some cases by limiting the mobility of law enforcement officials and forcing urban-rural migration, but the more significant impacts of the pandemic on forests are likely yet to come.</p>



<p>Unless they see alternatives, governments grappling with constrained fiscal resources and high levels of debt will be tempted to cut the budgets of environmental agencies and license new investment projects that could show up in forest loss data in future years. And yet new studies (<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2021/03/19/Building-Back-Better-How-Big-Are-Green-Spending-Multipliers-50264" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.vivideconomics.com/casestudy/greening-the-stimulus-investing-in-nature/" target="_blank">here</a>) are finding that investments in conserving and restoring nature actually provide&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/coronavirus-recovery" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more effective stimulus</a>&nbsp;than traditional measures.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Forests are increasingly falling victim to climate change.</h3>



<p>The most ominous signal from&nbsp;<a href="https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-pulse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the 2020 data</a>&nbsp;is the number and variety of instances in which forests themselves suffered in extreme weather events. In the Amazon, burning now occurs&nbsp;<em>inside</em>&nbsp;the rainforest, rather than just along the recently felled edges. Even wetlands are burning! Global warming and forest loss conspire to create warmer, drier conditions, which in turn render forests more vulnerable to fire and pest infestation. Subsequent burning and decay release more carbon emissions, feeding&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/us-fires-climate-emissions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a vicious cycle</a>.</p>



<p>Nature has been whispering to us about these risks for a long time, but now she is shouting. The longer we wait to both stop deforestation&nbsp;<em>and</em>&nbsp;shift to net-zero emissions trajectories in other sectors, the more likely it is that our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2021/01/forests-carbon-emissions-sink-flux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">natural carbon sinks</a>&nbsp;will go up in smoke.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">20 years of data demonstrate what works.</h3>



<p>Although the overall trends are distressing, what’s happened in a few individual countries inspires confidence that the drivers of deforestation&nbsp;<em>can</em>&nbsp;be defeated.</p>



<p>Indonesia has now reduced deforestation for four years in a row. Favorable weather, low commodity prices and implementation of corporate commitments to get deforestation out of commodity supply chains have undoubtedly contributed to that trend. But the Indonesian government’s effort also deserves credit. In the aftermath of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/02/exploring-indonesias-long-and-complicated-history-forest-fires" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">devastating fires in 2015</a>, the government beefed up fire prevention and monitoring, and expanded moratoria on conversion of primary forests and peatlands.</p>



<p>What’s significant about the Indonesia story is that it’s been driven by a combination of domestic self-interest — avoiding the severe public health and other costs of fires — and international market and financial incentives. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that one of the provinces that experienced a steep drop in tree cover loss in 2020 was East Kalimantan, which just concluded an&nbsp;<a href="http://greengrowth.bappenas.go.id/en/land-based-ghg-emission-reduction-program-milestone-in-east-kalimantan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agreement</a>&nbsp;with the World Bank for up to $110 million in REDD+ finance if the province is successful in bringing down forest-based emissions. The province is also host to one of most mature&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2020.503326/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multisector, multistakeholder initiatives</a>&nbsp;in the country seeking to transition to more sustainable land use. Under a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/indonesias-east-kalimanta_b_10404550" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Green Growth Compact</a>&nbsp;launched in 2016, government agencies, NGOs and the private sector have been coordinating efforts ranging from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2021/benefits-indigenous-community-lands-climate-action" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">securing village rights to forests</a>&nbsp;to protecting high-value forests within oil palm plantations.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What should be done to save forests now?</h3>



<p>These are fragile gains. We’ve seen this movie before. Brazil achieved a huge reduction in deforestation in the Amazon by deploying a suite of proven policy and market interventions, but now we’re witnessing a heartbreaking unraveling of that success: The Brazilian Amazon experienced a&nbsp;<a href="https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-pulse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">15% increase</a>&nbsp;in primary forest loss in 2020 compared to 2019. The policies and rhetoric of the Bolsonaro administration have&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/brazil-guts-agencies-sabotaging-environmental-protection-in-amazon-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crippled environmental agencies and law enforcement</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/bolsonaros-brazil-2019-brings-death-by-1000-cuts-to-amazon-part-one/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">encouraged land-grabbing</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/world/americas/bolsonaro-brazil-amazon-indigenous.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">put indigenous territories at risk</a>.</p>



<p>In the coming months, Indonesia will face rising palm oil prices and pressure to approve forest-risk investments under a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/11/indonesia-omnibus-law-global-investor-letter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">job creation law</a>, even as a&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/09/indonesian-president-signs-3-year-freeze-on-new-oil-palm-licenses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">three-year moratorium</a>&nbsp;on licensing of new oil palm plantations is set to expire this year. For Indonesia to maintain its success and other countries to follow its lead, the voices of domestic constituencies for forest protection need to be amplified. Space must be maintained for independent monitoring and advocacy by civil society.</p>



<p>The international community needs to ramp up incentives for those governments undertaking serious efforts to address deforestation to create a value proposition for staying the course. Such incentives should include preferential market access for forest-risk commodities that are produced legally and sustainably. Governments should be able to count on financial reward and diplomatic recognition for success in bringing down forest-based emissions. They should also have access to the investment funds, debt relief, and technical support they need to embark on genuinely&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wri.org/coronavirus-recovery" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">green post-pandemic recovery</a>&nbsp;efforts.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Forest guardians matter</h3>



<p>It’s also important to remember that the forest loss that is visible from satellites has profound impacts on the people and communities on the ground who depend on forests for their health, safety and livelihoods. Their lives matter. What we can see from satellites is that when&nbsp;<a href="https://kayapo.org/tag/indigenous-rights/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">indigenous peoples</a>&nbsp;are present in forests and their rights are strengthened, forest cover is maintained.</p>



<p>Yet the number of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forest defenders being murdered</a>&nbsp;is rising along with the rate of forest loss.</p>



<p>With global climate summits on&nbsp;<a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/conferences/glasgow-climate-change-conference" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate change</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbd.int/meetings/COP-15" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity</a>&nbsp;on the calendar, 2021 is a year for solidarity among governments committed to averting the worst impacts of forest loss. It’s also time for solidarity with the communities risking their lives to save the world’s remaining forests.</p>



<p>Let’s make 2021 the year that we finally muster the political will and financial resources to ensure that their efforts are successful.</p>



<hr> 

<div class="attribute" style="”padding-bottom:" 10px;”=""> 
 

Originally appeared on <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2021/03/2021-must-be-turning-point-forests-2020-data-shows-us-why" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>. 
 

</div> 

 

<hr>

Data on forest loss in 2020 shows that this next year will be pivotal to protecting forests and mitigating climate change.

We Need to Turn Forest Loss Around in 2021 | Global Forest Watch Blog

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/3dc298e411f65b199fc3734919d6934e?s=96&d=mm&r=g

Sarah Ruiz

restoration

restoration | Global Forest Watch Blog

David Gibbs

Nancy Harris

Katie Reytar

<p>In 2014, the future of forests looked bright. Governments, companies, non-governmental organizations and Indigenous groups committed to ten ambitious goals under the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Declaration on Forests</a> (NYDF). This major international declaration aims to protect forests, driven by the understanding that halting deforestation is essential to mitigating climate change and maintaining other benefits of forests. These goals include <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">halving deforestation</a> by 2020 and stopping it by 2030, while restoring an area of degraded land larger than the size of India.</p>



<p><a href="http://www.forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This year’s assessment</a> of progress on the NYDF firmly concludes that deforestation is not slowing enough to achieve this goal. In fact, by some measures, we are further from stopping deforestation now than we were six years ago. On top of that, limited data is making it difficult to fully assess progress on forest restoration. Although this reality presents a steep uphill battle, rapidly accelerating actions to end deforestation and restore forests offer hope that the 2030 goals can still be achieved. &nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>We’re headed in the wrong direction to end deforestation</strong></h3>



<p>Two independent datasets show that the world is not on track to halt deforestation. <a href="https://gfw.global/2I1sx83" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Forest Watch</a> data — created using a globally standardized remote sensing methodology — indicates that annual tropical <a href="https://gfw.global/2UGlWD1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">primary forest</a> loss has actually increased by 41% since the NYDF was signed, and annual global deforestation has increased between 55% and 64%. The United Nations <a href="http://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Resources Assessment 2020</a> also indicates insufficient progress toward the NYDF goals. This aggregation of country-reported statistics on forest change shows a slight drop in deforestation since 2000, but nowhere near the amount required to achieve the 2020 or 2030 targets. &nbsp;</p>



<p>Despite the differences between the two datasets, they share a key message: the world failed to halve deforestation by 2020 and, as a result, is not on a trajectory to stop it by 2030.</p>



<p>Each year, the world loses about <a href="http://www.forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10 million hectares</a> (24.7 million acres) of forest area — equivalent to 27 soccer fields per minute. Every year that deforestation is not reduced as quickly as possible will require even larger reductions in the following years to achieve our goal. In the meantime, deforestation will continue to cause emissions, the loss of forest benefits and the curtailment of Indigenous rights. If the past 19 years are any indication, the necessary decrease in forest loss seems unlikely in the next decade. Although unlikely, the world can’t afford to not attempt reaching this goal.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Why is progress so slow?</strong></h3>



<p>The issue largely arises from the disparity between the commitments made and  the actions taken to meet them. Goals two through four of the NYDF track specific contributing factors to global deforestation, while goal five outlines restoration targets. In each of these categories, actions fell short of what is needed.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 2</em></a><em>: Ending Deforestation from Agricultural Commodities</em></p>



<div class="imageleft"><img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="fire clearing cattle pasture in the Gran Chaco, Paraguay" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ChacoParaguay.jpg" width="100%">Fires used to clear land for pasture in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco region can be seen from an airplane. Photo by Jordi Ruiz Cirera/WRI.</div>



<p>Forest clearing <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;for new agricultural land</a> is the largest cause of deforestation. However, removing deforestation from supply chains is happening unevenly. Even where commitments exist, implementation and consequences are hard to trace through complex supply chains. Last year, nearly one-third of 350 major companies with supply chains at risk of causing deforestation did not report anything about their activities to stop deforestation. Some sectors are progressing faster than others — <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">81%</a> of Indonesian palm oil exports in 2018 came from companies with no-deforestation pledges, while just 32% of Brazilian beef exports in 2017 were produced under a commitment.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2020NYDFReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 3</em></a><em>: Reducing Deforestation from Other Sectors</em></p>



<p>Although <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mining and infrastructure</a> like roads and dams are not <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6407/1108/tab-figures-data" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">globally major</a> causes of deforestation, they can heavily impact forests at local scales. Companies in these sectors generally provide even less information on what they are doing to prevent deforestation than the agricultural sector does. For example, a recent World Bank <a href="https://www.profor.info/content/forest-smart-mining-identifying-factors-associated-impacts-large-scale-mining-forests" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> could not identify any mining operations that comprehensively addressed and mitigated their environmental risks, and financial institutions are generally not providing data on the extent to which their mining and infrastructure investments align with their sustainability principles. The forest impacts of these sectors are expected to intensify as the demand for mined materials increases, and as infrastructure projects bring farmers, loggers and poachers to new forest frontiers. &nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2020NYDFReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 4</em></a><em>: Support Alternatives for Basic Needs</em></p>



<p>Efforts are increasing to find ways to meet the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">basic needs</a> of communities, such as fuelwood and food, without further deforestation. However, these efforts aren’t happening at the necessary scale and are generally not addressing the root causes of poverty, limiting their effectiveness. For example, programs that seek to take pressure off forests by improving the agricultural productivity of smallholders’ existing farms &nbsp;often fail to invest in underlying conditions to secure farmer livelihoods such as land tenure, public services and market access, alongside improvements in governance to ensure forest protection measures are respected.&nbsp; &nbsp;But some governments, <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/malawi-turns-corner-solving-its-deforestation-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">like Malawi</a>’s, have begun doing that hard work and helping communities manage their forests sustainably while planting fast-growing trees to meet immediate demand for firewood.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 5</em></a><em>: Restore Forests</em></p>



<div class="imageright"><img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="guatemala restoration project sustainable cocoa" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/guatemala.png" width="100%">In Guatemala, impact investor 12Tree is growing sustainable cocoa while protecting natural forests. Courtesy of 12Tree. </div>



<p>For restoration, the shortcomings can be linked to a lack of investment at scale and a dearth of globally consistent data. Restoring 350 million hectares will require <a href="https://www.wri.org/publication/roots-of-prosperity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">billions of dollars</a>. Funders have committed $4 billion through the <a href="http://www.afr100.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AFR100</a> Initiative in Africa and <a href="http://www.initiative20x20.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Initiative 20×20</a> in Latin America. Even that is not enough to reach the NYDF’s goal, though there are <a href="https://initiative20x20.org/restoration-projects" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dozens</a> of <a href="https://afr100.org/content/7-ways-african-leaders-are-restoring-their-landscapes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">successful projects</a> in each region. The Great Green Wall in Africa’s Sahel, for example, faces a <a href="https://www.unccd.int/publications/great-green-wall-implementation-status-and-way-ahead-2030" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$4.3 billion yearly funding gap</a> through 2030. There is also no systematic and independent way to track where or how much of that funding has reached projects, though reports indicate that governments, private investors and entrepreneurs are starting to incentivize, finance and scale up their work.</p>



<p>This underscores the importance of developing a global method that consistently tracks where those trees are growing, and that complements existing tree cover loss data. That approach will need to work inside the forest and <em>outside</em> it on farms and pasture, where restoration has the <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/small-amazonian-community-agroforestry-takes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most benefits for people</a>. Regional pilots of this method in Central America and <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/deforestation-threatens-mekong-new-trees-are-growing-surprising-places" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southeast Asia</a>, conducted as part of the 2019 and 2020 NYDF Progress Assessments, are promising. But understanding tree cover gain and loss together – and assessing the overall health of forests – will require <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/07/trillion-trees-tracking-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">improved data and techniques</a>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Transforming commitments into real action</strong></h3>



<p>While the latest NYDF report is stark in its message, new initiatives that can turn the tide are gaining momentum. The growth of zero-deforestation commitments shows that motivation to halt deforestation still exists across governments, companies, financial institutions and civil society. And innovative restoration programs like the more than <a href="https://initiative20x20.org/restoration-projects" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">50 private-sector projects</a> aligned with Initiative 20×20 and the growing <a href="https://www.wri.org/our-work/project/land-accelerator" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Land Accelerator network</a>, whose entrepreneurs are helping 120,000 farmers produce more sustainably, are boosting funding for forest protection and restoration. </p>



<p>Moving forward will require hard work, improving transparency, employing environmental safeguards, reducing consumption of high-deforestation goods and increasing ambition and financing from companies and governments alike. Growing investments and commitments to protecting and restoring forests must pair with equivalent action. Failing to do so will seal the fate of forests for years to come.</p>



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Progress Must Speed Up to Protect and Restore Forests by 2030

<p>In 2014, the future of forests looked bright. Governments, companies, non-governmental organizations and Indigenous groups committed to ten ambitious goals under the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Declaration on Forests</a> (NYDF). This major international declaration aims to protect forests, driven by the understanding that halting deforestation is essential to mitigating climate change and maintaining other benefits of forests. These goals include <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">halving deforestation</a> by 2020 and stopping it by 2030, while restoring an area of degraded land larger than the size of India.</p>



<p><a href="http://www.forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This year’s assessment</a> of progress on the NYDF firmly concludes that deforestation is not slowing enough to achieve this goal. In fact, by some measures, we are further from stopping deforestation now than we were six years ago. On top of that, limited data is making it difficult to fully assess progress on forest restoration. Although this reality presents a steep uphill battle, rapidly accelerating actions to end deforestation and restore forests offer hope that the 2030 goals can still be achieved. &nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>We’re headed in the wrong direction to end deforestation</strong></h3>



<p>Two independent datasets show that the world is not on track to halt deforestation. <a href="https://gfw.global/2I1sx83" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Forest Watch</a> data — created using a globally standardized remote sensing methodology — indicates that annual tropical <a href="https://gfw.global/2UGlWD1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">primary forest</a> loss has actually increased by 41% since the NYDF was signed, and annual global deforestation has increased between 55% and 64%. The United Nations <a href="http://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Resources Assessment 2020</a> also indicates insufficient progress toward the NYDF goals. This aggregation of country-reported statistics on forest change shows a slight drop in deforestation since 2000, but nowhere near the amount required to achieve the 2020 or 2030 targets. &nbsp;</p>



<p>Despite the differences between the two datasets, they share a key message: the world failed to halve deforestation by 2020 and, as a result, is not on a trajectory to stop it by 2030.</p>



<p>Each year, the world loses about <a href="http://www.forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10 million hectares</a> (24.7 million acres) of forest area — equivalent to 27 soccer fields per minute. Every year that deforestation is not reduced as quickly as possible will require even larger reductions in the following years to achieve our goal. In the meantime, deforestation will continue to cause emissions, the loss of forest benefits and the curtailment of Indigenous rights. If the past 19 years are any indication, the necessary decrease in forest loss seems unlikely in the next decade. Although unlikely, the world can’t afford to not attempt reaching this goal.</p>



<h3><strong>Why is progress so slow?</strong></h3>



<p>The issue largely arises from the disparity between the commitments made and  the actions taken to meet them. Goals two through four of the NYDF track specific contributing factors to global deforestation, while goal five outlines restoration targets. In each of these categories, actions fell short of what is needed.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 2</em></a><em>: Ending Deforestation from Agricultural Commodities</em></p>



<div class="imageleft"><img class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="fire clearing cattle pasture in the Gran Chaco, Paraguay" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ChacoParaguay.jpg" width="100%">Fires used to clear land for pasture in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco region can be seen from an airplane. Photo by Jordi Ruiz Cirera/WRI.</div>



<p>Forest clearing <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;for new agricultural land</a> is the largest cause of deforestation. However, removing deforestation from supply chains is happening unevenly. Even where commitments exist, implementation and consequences are hard to trace through complex supply chains. Last year, nearly one-third of 350 major companies with supply chains at risk of causing deforestation did not report anything about their activities to stop deforestation. Some sectors are progressing faster than others — <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">81%</a> of Indonesian palm oil exports in 2018 came from companies with no-deforestation pledges, while just 32% of Brazilian beef exports in 2017 were produced under a commitment.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2020NYDFReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 3</em></a><em>: Reducing Deforestation from Other Sectors</em></p>



<p>Although <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mining and infrastructure</a> like roads and dams are not <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6407/1108/tab-figures-data" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">globally major</a> causes of deforestation, they can heavily impact forests at local scales. Companies in these sectors generally provide even less information on what they are doing to prevent deforestation than the agricultural sector does. For example, a recent World Bank <a href="https://www.profor.info/content/forest-smart-mining-identifying-factors-associated-impacts-large-scale-mining-forests" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> could not identify any mining operations that comprehensively addressed and mitigated their environmental risks, and financial institutions are generally not providing data on the extent to which their mining and infrastructure investments align with their sustainability principles. The forest impacts of these sectors are expected to intensify as the demand for mined materials increases, and as infrastructure projects bring farmers, loggers and poachers to new forest frontiers. &nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2020NYDFReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 4</em></a><em>: Support Alternatives for Basic Needs</em></p>



<p>Efforts are increasing to find ways to meet the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">basic needs</a> of communities, such as fuelwood and food, without further deforestation. However, these efforts aren’t happening at the necessary scale and are generally not addressing the root causes of poverty, limiting their effectiveness. For example, programs that seek to take pressure off forests by improving the agricultural productivity of smallholders’ existing farms &nbsp;often fail to invest in underlying conditions to secure farmer livelihoods such as land tenure, public services and market access, alongside improvements in governance to ensure forest protection measures are respected.&nbsp; &nbsp;But some governments, <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/malawi-turns-corner-solving-its-deforestation-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">like Malawi</a>’s, have begun doing that hard work and helping communities manage their forests sustainably while planting fast-growing trees to meet immediate demand for firewood.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 5</em></a><em>: Restore Forests</em></p>



<div class="imageright"><img class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="guatemala restoration project sustainable cocoa" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/guatemala.png" width="100%">In Guatemala, impact investor 12Tree is growing sustainable cocoa while protecting natural forests. Courtesy of 12Tree. </div>



<p>For restoration, the shortcomings can be linked to a lack of investment at scale and a dearth of globally consistent data. Restoring 350 million hectares will require <a href="https://www.wri.org/publication/roots-of-prosperity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">billions of dollars</a>. Funders have committed $4 billion through the <a href="http://www.afr100.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AFR100</a> Initiative in Africa and <a href="http://www.initiative20x20.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Initiative 20x20</a> in Latin America. Even that is not enough to reach the NYDF’s goal, though there are <a href="https://initiative20x20.org/restoration-projects" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dozens</a> of <a href="https://afr100.org/content/7-ways-african-leaders-are-restoring-their-landscapes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">successful projects</a> in each region. The Great Green Wall in Africa’s Sahel, for example, faces a <a href="https://www.unccd.int/publications/great-green-wall-implementation-status-and-way-ahead-2030" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$4.3 billion yearly funding gap</a> through 2030. There is also no systematic and independent way to track where or how much of that funding has reached projects, though reports indicate that governments, private investors and entrepreneurs are starting to incentivize, finance and scale up their work.</p>



<p>This underscores the importance of developing a global method that consistently tracks where those trees are growing, and that complements existing tree cover loss data. That approach will need to work inside the forest and <em>outside</em> it on farms and pasture, where restoration has the <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/small-amazonian-community-agroforestry-takes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most benefits for people</a>. Regional pilots of this method in Central America and <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/deforestation-threatens-mekong-new-trees-are-growing-surprising-places" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southeast Asia</a>, conducted as part of the 2019 and 2020 NYDF Progress Assessments, are promising. But understanding tree cover gain and loss together – and assessing the overall health of forests – will require <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/07/trillion-trees-tracking-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">improved data and techniques</a>.</p>



<h3><strong>Transforming commitments into real action</strong></h3>



<p>While the latest NYDF report is stark in its message, new initiatives that can turn the tide are gaining momentum. The growth of zero-deforestation commitments shows that motivation to halt deforestation still exists across governments, companies, financial institutions and civil society. And innovative restoration programs like the more than <a href="https://initiative20x20.org/restoration-projects" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">50 private-sector projects</a> aligned with Initiative 20x20 and the growing <a href="https://www.wri.org/our-work/project/land-accelerator" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Land Accelerator network</a>, whose entrepreneurs are helping 120,000 farmers produce more sustainably, are boosting funding for forest protection and restoration. </p>



<p>Moving forward will require hard work, improving transparency, employing environmental safeguards, reducing consumption of high-deforestation goods and increasing ambition and financing from companies and governments alike. Growing investments and commitments to protecting and restoring forests must pair with equivalent action. Failing to do so will seal the fate of forests for years to come.</p>