Assessing progress on global forest goals

The Forest Declaration Assessment is an annual, civil society-led effort to assess collective progress towards global forest goals. The Assessment tracks progress on forest goals enshrined in the New York Declaration on Forests, the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, the Bonn Challenge, and other international pledges. The goals provide concrete statements of global ambition to protect and restore forests, which are critical to meeting the aspirations of the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Convention on Biological Diversity, and other global commitments.  

The Forest Declaration Assessment and the pledges that it tracks recognize that halting deforestation and restoring forests requires engaging a wide array of actors and balancing environmental, social, and economic interests. The Forest Declaration Assessment began in 2014 as the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) Progress Assessment. Since 2015, the Assessment has provided updates on progress towards global forest goals. In 2022, it rebranded as the Forest Declaration Assessment in response to the need to track progress on new global forest commitments. 

The Forest Declaration Assessment convenes partner civil society and research organizations to conduct the assessment and to communicate the findings.  

The Assessment Partners follow systematic and rigorous approaches to collect and analyze data for each theme. The Assessment methodology for each theme includes comprehensive literature reviews, analysis of global data sets, original research led by local partners, and expert interviews. The Forest Declaration Assessment uses the findings to develop accessible reports and evidence-based policy recommendations that are published in multiple languages and amplified by Partners.  

The Forest Declaration Assessment framework organizes forest goals from these pledges into four themes: