They are one of our strongest allies in the fight against
climate change, but the world is failing forests.
Forests suck up one third of the world’s greenhouse gas
emissions, are home to 80% of the world’s land-based animal and plant species,
and provide livelihoods for 1.6 billion people. The need for us to protect
forests is the basis for many international pledges and targets. Yet, deforestation and forest degradation
have continued.
We do not need new global forest goals to protect and
restore our forests. We need to put into
action the goals we already have. We
must tackle the systemic threats to forests, deliver the funding needed to
protect and restore them, and bring national policies in line with global
commitments.
The pathways to meeting forest goals are known, but progress
is slow and small-scale. We must change this.
Failing against forest targets will have catastrophic impacts for people,
including locking us into a world of dangerous climate change.
