Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Environment
Why in News?
The 2026 Forest Declaration Assessment, Tracking Progress on 2030 Forest Goals, reported a 15% decline in global deforestation in 2025.
Forest Declaration Assessment 2026
- Title – Tracking Progress on 2030 Forest Goals
- Published by – Climate Focus and a coalition of research partners.
- Despite this decline, the world remains off track to achieve the goal of halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030.
- Major Factors Contributing to Forest Loss
- Agriculture – Expansion of cropland and livestock grazing areas.
- Commodity production – Beef, soy, and other commodities that pose risks to forests.
- Mining – Extraction of minerals and other materials.
- Unsustainable land use – Conversion of grasslands and natural ecosystems.
- Weak governance – Insufficient enforcement of forest laws and insecure community land rights.
- Insufficient finance – Limited funding for forest conservation and restoration efforts.
Global Biodiversity Framework and the 30-by-30 Target
- The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) was adopted in 2022 under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
- Target 3, commonly referred to as the 30-by-30 target, seeks to ensure that by 2030 at least the following objectives are met:
- 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas are effectively conserved and managed.
- 30% of marine and coastal areas are effectively conserved and managed.
Current status from the assessment
- Protected areas cover 17.33% of the world's land and inland waters.
- Considerable expansion and effective management are needed to achieve the terrestrial component of the target.
Note – The 30-by-30 target covers both land and sea. The reported 17.33% figure relates to land and inland waters, not marine areas.
Other key findings
- Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) – IPLCs hold customary rights over 5.5 billion hectares, but only 1 billion hectares enjoy clear legal recognition.
- The Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment seeks to recognize or strengthen IPLC rights over 160 million hectares.
- Corporate Accountability and Forest Conservation – Only 29% of evaluated Forest 500 companies maintained comprehensive zero-deforestation commitments that addressed all relevant commodities.
- In 2025, fourteen major companies either weakened or withdrew their existing zero-deforestation commitments.
- The adoption of Science Based Targets initiative standards for Forest, Land, and Agriculture (SBTi FLAG) doubled in 2025, with 461 companies participating by June 2026.
Reference
Down To Earth | Forest Declaration Assessment 2026
