Endorser perspectives report: Progress, challenges and enabling conditions for action

This report presents perspectives from the endorsers of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), examining endorser progress to achieve the 10 goals, including enabling conditions for endorser action, barriers to progress, and lessons learned five years since the launch of the Declaration in 2014. NYDF endorser challenges, actions and progress towards the NYDF goals have been captured, recognizing that measurable, collective action is necessary now to make considerable progress to address deforestation.

Eight lessons emerged from the consultation with endorsers:

Lesson 1: Implementation of deforestation-free commitments by companies and governments is slow due to barriers that require multi-level and multi-sectoral solutions

Lesson 2: Strong governance and policy are essential enabling conditions for endorser action; but also a barrier to implementation when absent

Lesson 3: Individual leadership and forest champions can shape action across an organization and an industry

Lesson 4: Implementation of forest commitments often hinges on multi-stakeholder engagement and partnerships

Lesson 5: Accountability and transparency technology has accelerated in recent years but access to open and transparent data remains a challenge

Lesson 6: Land tenure is a precondition to eliminate conflict and sustainably conserve and manage forests

Lesson 7: Although negative financial investments work against forests, and positive financial investments are insufficient to achieve forest goals, new models for forest finance hold promise

Lesson 8: Nature Based Solutions yield societal benefits but those values are not fully recognized

The post-2020 vision

As 2020 approaches, and taking into account the findings of the NYDF Assessment report in 2019, there is a need for renewed ambition and action by all endorser groups, coupled with increased accountability, in order to reverse increasing deforestation trends and advance towards global forest and climate targets. Nearly two-thirds of consulted NYDF endorsers have reported action plans for post-2020 objectives with specific priorities emerging, including:

1. implementing safeguards and policies to reduce forest risks,
2. support for livelihoods and capacity building,
3. nature-based solutions and conservation,
4. agricultural markets, including demand and consumption,
5. transparency and accountability,
6. harmonizing the development, biodiversity and climate agendas, and
7. governance.

The NYDF Global Platform’s post-2020 vision will focus on incorporating the recommendations and feedback collected from over 80+ NYDF endorser consultations including strategies for strengthening implementation, addressing accountability, maximizing synergies with initiatives and coalitions, and supporting knowledge sharing.