Land Use • The tree that hides the forest: increasing commitments and a slowdown in deforestation mask the shrinking carbon sink
After reaching a peak in 2016, the loss of global tree cover began to slow down, although erratically. The loss of primary forests is mainly due to deforestation for commercial agriculture, which has seen a rise in resulting emissions, and a reduction in the net carbon sink of forests.
- Annual global tree cover loss has slowed since peaking in 2016, but remains above the 2000-2015 average. The carbon stocking capacity of forests therefore continues to weaken.
- Indonesia has significantly slowed its rate of deforestation, which is accelerating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazil.
- International targets for combating deforestation (New York Declaration), accelerating reforestation (Bonn Challenge) and promoting biodiversity (Aichi Targets) have generally not been met.
- Financing for biodiversity and forests is growing. “Nature-based” carbon credits are driving the development of voluntary carbon markets.