© Unsplash/M. Kavelashvili Mountains of Adjara, Georgia. UN report: Global forest cover is declining Climate and Environment
From 2015 to 2025, the Earth’s forest cover decreased by more than 40 million hectares. Despite growing recognition of the role of forests in combating the effects of climate change and providing food for people around the world, these ecosystems continue to disappear. The authors of a new UN report, presented on Monday at the opening of the 21st session of the UN Forum on Forests, warn about this.
The document provides the most up-to-date assessment of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030 and the six global forest goals. The report is based on voluntarily submitted data from 48 countries, accounting for 51 percent of the world’s forest resources, as well as available global data.
“Forests are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals—from combating climate change and conserving biodiversity to ensuring food security and sustainable livelihoods,” said the Assistant General UN Secretary for Policy Coordination Bjerg Sandkjær.
According to her, investing in forests is an investment in a sustainable economy, climate stability and the well-being of future generations.
Uneven progress
Fifty-four percent of the world’s forests are concentrated in five countries: 20 percent in the Russian Federation, 12 percent in Brazil, nine percent in Canada, seven percent in the United States and 5 percent in China.
The report’s authors note that many countries are taking serious steps to preserve forests: expanding protected forest areas, increasing control over forest use, and introducing programs to restore degraded forests. lands, international cooperation is developing.
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For example, Russia previously reported that 1.7 million hectares of forests had been restored between 2018 and 2021, exceeding its original goal of restoring 1.55 million hectares by 2024
However, overall progress remains uneven. Of the 26 global targets only seven have been fully achieved, &17 have been partially implemented, and two areas are reducing forest loss and ending extreme poverty among forest-dependent populations – are on the wrong trajectory.
What threatens forests
Among the main threats experts name changes nature land use, climate shocks, forest fires, pests, as well as illegal logging and others illegal activities.
Lack of funding remains an additional problem. According to the UN, the amount of funds allocated to sustainable forest management is significantly below necessary levels. UN Forum on Forests Secretariat Juliette Biao stressed that there is no time for delay, with less than five years left until the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. She said political will, new financing mechanisms and coordination between different economic sectors will play a decisive role.