World heading 'in the wrong direction' to stop deforestation by 2030, NGOs say

The world is failing to deliver on its promise to end and reverse deforestation by 2030 as global forest loss increased last year, a group of experts warned on Tuesday. NGOs and researchers. Last year, deforestation was more than 20% higher than it should have been to meet leaders' commitment. Some 6.6 million hectares of forest have been lost, much of it primary forest in tropical regions.

In 2021, leaders of more than 100 countries and territories, representing the vast majority of the world's forests, pledged to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. But an annual assessment released Tuesday found that the global deforestation increased by 4% last year, and the world is still not on track to meet the 2030 commitment. “The 2030 target is not just there for show , it is essential to maintaining a livable climate for humanity,” underlines Erin Matson, one of the main authors of this report entitled “Assessing the Declaration on Forests”. Forests are not only essential habitats for animal life, they are also important regulators of global climate and carbon sinks that absorb emissions from human activities.

The assessment, overseen by more than two dozen environmental organizations and research bodies, also warns that forest degradation remains a major problem. The term degradation refers to a wide range of damages, including wildfires and loss of biodiversity, that affect the overall condition of a forest. “Data from year to year tends to change. One year is therefore not the ideal solution,” says Erin Matson. “But what’s really important is the trend. And since the reference period of 2018 to 2020, we are going in the wrong direction.

The picture is not entirely negative, with around fifty countries judged to be on track to end deforestation. Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia have notably recorded “dramatic reductions” in forest loss. However, this progress is under threat, the report warns. Indonesia's success is partly linked to a moratorium on deforestation, but some fear new legislation on job creation could weaken that commitment. In Brazil, while there is renewed interest in protecting the Amazon, another key ecosystem, the Cerrado savannah, has become a target.

The report praises new rules introduced by the European Union aimed at blocking imports of commodities that promote deforestation. But it calls for stronger global action, including devoting more funds to protecting forests and ending subsidies to sectors such as agriculture that drive deforestation. “The world is failing forests, with devastating global consequences,” warns Fran Price, global head of forests at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). “Since the global commitment (...) was made, an area of ​​tropical forest the size of Denmark has been lost,” she highlights.

The publication of the report comes before the holding of COP28, the United Nations climate conference, which will bring together world leaders in Dubai from November 30 to December 12. However, deforestation risks taking a back seat to discussions about renewable energy and the future of fossil fuels. “We want nature and the forest to be a priority. We fear that (the discussions) are not up to par,” laments Fran Price.