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What was the Forest Declaration Platform?

From New York to Glasgow and beyond, governments, companies, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society agree: we need to halt and reverse deforestation in this decade.

The Forest Declaration Platform was a collaborative initiative that operated from 2017 to 2024 to advance this vision.

History

The Platform’s origins trace back to the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), adopted in 2014 at the UN Climate Summit as the first global framework linking forest protection, restoration, and sustainable land use to climate goals.

In 2017, the NYDF Global Platform was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Climate Focus, Climate Advisers, and the Meridian Institute to support endorsers and catalyze joint action.

As momentum for forest commitments grew, the Platform was rebranded in 2021 as the Forest Declaration Platform to reflect a broader mandate — supporting pledges made not only in New York but also under the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration and other 2030 initiatives. It served as a hub for coordination, knowledge-sharing, and accountability across governments, civil society, and the private sector.

In April 2024, the Platform’s partner organizations collectively decided to conclude its operations as a unified entity. Each organization continues to advance key workstreams independently:

  • Climate Focus leads the ongoing Forest Declaration Assessment, which provides independent, civil society-led accountability for global forest goals.

  • Climate Advisers and Meridian Institute support the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP), sustaining political leadership and coordination on forest action.

  • UNDP continues to advance inclusive climate action through its Climate Promise, supporting countries and Indigenous Peoples in achieving forest and climate objectives.

What the Platform achieved

During its seven years of operation, the Forest Declaration Platform:

  • Fostered high-level political engagement to keep forests at the center of global climate agendas.

  • Supported collaboration among governments, companies, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society.

  • Promoted transparency and accountability through the integration of the Forest Declaration Assessment.

  • Helped strengthen the role of forests in key global commitments, including the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration, the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership, and the IPLC Forest Tenure Donor Statement.

Legacy and continuing work

While the Platform itself has ended, its spirit of collaboration continues through initiatives it helped nurture.

  • The Forest Declaration Assessment remains the primary mechanism for independent tracking of progress toward global forest goals.

  • Partner organizations continue to engage through the FCLP, Climate Promise, and other mechanisms that sustain ambition and accountability.

Information about the NYDF, the Platform’s history, and the Assessment remains available on forestdeclaration.org to support transparency and institutional continuity.

The Forest Declaration Assessment tracks progress to enable accountability to meet the world's 2030 forest goals.

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This project is supported by the Climate and Land Use Alliance and the Good Energies Foundation. Research that contributed to this project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.

© 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment. All Rights Reserved

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The Forest Declaration Assessment and the Forest Declaration Platform have been supported over the years by the Climate and Land Use Alliance, the Good Energies Foundation, the Bezos Earth Fund, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) of Germany, and the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), which supported this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.
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