Report focuses on tracking the overarching forest goals: eliminating deforestation and forest degradation, and restoring 30% of degraded forest area by 2030. 

• These goals have been established by international commitments such as New York Declaration on Forests (2014), Glassgow Leaders’ Declaration (2021), and Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022).

Global Forest Goals and Progress 

• Eliminate deforestation by 2030: Around 6.37 million hectares deforested in 2023 much greater than the targeted 4.38 million hectares.
  • 3.8 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2023 making deforestation fourth-highest emitter after China, US and India. 
• Eliminate tree cover loss in forested Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs): Over 1.4 million hectares of forests were lost within forested KBAs in 2023. 
• Controlling Forest Fire: Nearly one-third of area lost to fires since 2001 was burned from 2019-23.
• Restore 30% of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2030: Only around 18% of the Bonn Challenge’s 2020 target of 150 million hectares was restored from 2000-19.

Drivers of Deforestation 

• Commodity Production: Agricultural commodities responsible for 57% of global deforestation over past two decades.
• Shifting agriculture in primary forests: Responsible for loss of 15.9 million hectares of primary forests from 2015-23.
• Mining: From 2000-19, mining volumes from tropical moist forest ecosystems doubled.