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Tag: deforestation

  • Investors Managing $3 Trillion in Assets Urge Countries to Stop Deforestation

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    LONDON (Reuters) -Global investors managing over $3 trillion in assets called on governments on Monday to stop and reverse deforestation and ecosystem degradation by 2030, in a statement signed ahead of a U.N. climate conference in Brazil next month.

    Around 30 institutional investors including Swiss private bank Pictet Group and Nordic investor DNB Asset Management have so far signed up to the Belém Investor Statement on Rainforests, which is open until November 1.

    A report last week found the world is falling far short of the goal of stopping deforestation, with losses of 8.1 million hectares (20 million acres) of forest – an area about the size of England – in 2024 alone, largely driven by agricultural expansion and forest fires.

    “As investors, we are increasingly concerned about the material financial risks that tropical deforestation and nature loss pose to our portfolios,” the statement said.

    The investors emphasised the need for policies that deliver legal, regulatory, and financial certainty to help protect the forests and safeguard economic stability, said Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO at Nordic firm Storebrand Asset Management. 

    “Deforestation undermines the natural systems that global markets rely on – from climate regulation to food and water security.” 

    Earlier this year, the European Union delayed launching its anti-deforestation law by a year after facing opposition from industry and trade partners such as Brazil, Indonesia and the United States, who say complying with the rules would be costly and hurt their exports to Europe.

    The role of climate sceptic U.S. President Donald Trump in rolling back support for global environmental efforts was also hampering action, said Ingrid Tungen, head of deforestation-free markets at Rainforest Foundation Norway. 

    “I think Trump has made it more difficult for investors and managers to take climate and biodiversity into account in such a volatile market,” she said.

    “All the investors that we are talking to think there is a huge risk for us not taking diversification and climate change into consideration in the long-term, and not just for their own morals, but because that will harm the markets directly and their profits directly.”

    (Reporting by Sharon Kimathi; Editing by Nia Williams)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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  • World Falling Far Behind Deforestation Goals With Farms and Fires Driving Loss, Report Says

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    SANTIAGO (Reuters) -The world is falling far behind a global goal to reverse deforestation by 2030, with losses being largely driven by agricultural expansion and forest fires, according to the 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment.

    The report said the world permanently lost 8.1 million hectares (20 million acres) of forest, an area about the size of England, in 2024 alone, putting the planet 63% behind the goal set by over 140 countries in the 2021 Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use.

    The Forest Declaration Assessment brings together research organizations, think tanks, non-governmental organizations and advocacy groups, and the report was coordinated by advisory company Climate Focus.

    Fires were the leading cause of forest loss, accounting for 6.73 million of those hectares around the world, with the Amazon rainforest hit particularly hard, releasing nearly 800 million metric tons of CO2 from fires in 2024.

    “Major fire years used to be outliers, but now they’re the norm. And these fires are largely human-made,” said Erin Matson, lead author of the Forest Declaration Assessment. “They’re linked to land clearing, to climate change-induced drought, and to limited law enforcement.”

    Earlier reports also found Amazon fires led to unprecedented forest loss, with Brazil leading tropical forest loss and Bolivia’s forest loss surging by 200% in 2024.

    This year’s global forest assessment also found that on average, 86% of annual global deforestation over the last decade was caused by permanent agriculture. It also listed gold and coal mining as growing sources of deforestation.

    “Demand for commodities like soy, beef, timber, coal, and metals keeps rising, but the tragedy is we don’t actually need to destroy forests to meet that demand,” Matson said, adding over $400 billion in agricultural subsidies are helping drive deforestation.

    “The incentives are completely backwards,” she said, noting international public finance for forest protection and restoration averaged just $5.9 billion a year. The report estimates that $117 billion to $299 billion in financing is needed to reach the 2030 goals.

    With the COP30, the United Nations climate change conference, set to start in Brazil in November, Matson points to the country’s proposed Tropical Forest Forever Facility, which aims to raise $125 billion in funding for long-term forest finance as a way to help stem forest loss.

    The fund, which would be financed by governments and private investors, could disperse $3.4 billion a year with 20% going to indigenous and local communities.

    “Looking toward COP30 in Belem, a successful launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, TFFF, could start to channel long-term reliable finance to keeping forests standing,” Matson said. “So looking at the global picture of deforestation, it is dark, but we may be in the darkness before the dawn.”

    (Reporting by Alexander Villegas; Editing by Chris Reese)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • How Ghana and Ethiopia Are Boosting Their Forests

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    A delegate stands in front of a backdrop for the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) during the opening of the High-Level Leaders Summit in Addis Ababa, on Sept. 8, 2025. Credit – Luis Tato—Getty Images

    In the face of Africa’s rapid deforestation in past decades, many countries in the continent are now starting to see progress in combating forest loss—and making inroads in reforestation efforts.

    Leaders from Ethiopia, Ghana, Norway, and Denmark spoke of the effectiveness of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative and other African-led deforestation solutions, highlighting the importance of improving global support for these initiatives, during a panel moderated by TIME’s chief climate officer Shyla Raghav. The conversation took place on Sept. 9 during Africa’s Second Climate Summit, hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    The Green Legacy Initiative was launched in 2019 by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to tackle climate challenges, reverse land degradation, restore ecosystems, and build climate resilience. Since launching the initiative, the country has seen a sharp decline in deforestation—down from 92,000 hectares (over 227,000 acres) in 2013, to 27,000 hectares (around 66,700 acres) in 2023 and 2024—and planted over 48 billion seedlings to aid in reforestation efforts, according to Kebede Yimam, director-general of the Ethiopian Forestry Development Unit.

    Linking emission reductions with the country’s development goals has enabled the country to make quick progress on multiple fronts, said Mensur Dessie, climate institutional development advisor at the Ethiopian Ministry of Planning and Development. Ethiopia launched a 10-year development plan in 2021 to guide the country towards climate resilient green development by 2030, integrating sustainable practices throughout sectors including agriculture, forestry, energy, transport, and water.

    “We are now successfully launching these strategies that could really help Ethiopia to achieve its development aspirations that have been set for 2030 and 2050 as well as address…greenhouse gas emission reduction and building resilience across the sectors,” Dessie said.

    What’s more, focusing on restoring natural resources has had a direct impact on the livelihoods of Ethiopians, said Motuma Tolera, deputy director-general of forestry development in the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture.

    “We have communities which were engaged in [restoration], and they have already started to harvest the foods and then make livelihoods—even the export level of these foods is rising a lot,” he said.

    Panelists also spoke of the importance of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), a voluntary U.N. framework that financially rewards developing countries for emission reductions from reduced deforestation. While REDD+ has faced controversy over the years, including claims that projects overestimate their claimed carbon cuts, speakers said the program has helped with local reforestation efforts.

    Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, director of the Forestry Commission Training Centre in Ghana, shared some of the country’s experiences implementing REDD+. As of 2024, the country has received and dispersed over $20 million in funds from the World Bank for combatting deforestation. Adjei stressed the importance of involving stakeholders like local leaders, private sector, and various government branches.

    “Implementing REDD+ on the ground needs governance arrangements where you know who does what,” she said. “Local communities have their own farms. What must they do on their farms? What must the private sector do to support local communities? What must civil society do to support that process as well?”

    A number of countries, including Ghana, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have begun to receive payments for REDD+ progress, highlighting the program’s efficacy and momentum, said Ellen Bruzelius Backer, deputy director of the Norwegian International Climate and Forestry Initiative. Norway is one of the donors behind the LEAF-Coalition, which seeks to purchase verified emission reduction and removal credits and has agreed to purchase future credits from Ethiopia. “Traction comes after a lot of hard work in a lot of countries,” she said.

    But there is still more work to be done. Africa has the highest rate of deforestation in the world. About 3.9 million hectares (9.6 million acres) of African forest—roughly the size of about 381 million soccer fields—was destroyed every year between 2010 and 2020. “We believe [nature-based solutions] offer a sustainable way forward for Africa,” said Sune Krogstrup, Denmark’s ambassador to Ethiopia, one of the investors in Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative. “But it’s also clear that more investments and political commitments are needed from all stakeholders to advance this agenda.”

    Coverage of the Second Africa Climate Summit is presented by the Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance.

    Write to Simmone Shah at simmone.shah@time.com.

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  • Forest Loss Assessment Reveals Critical Window to Save Madagascar’s Protected Areas

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    New Report Highlights Alarming Forest Loss in Madagascar’s Protected Areas, Urges Immediate Global Action to Save Irreplaceable Biodiversity


    ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, December 12, 2024 (Newswire.com)
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    The Madagascar Protected Area Consortium released a landmark report revealing that Madagascar – home to some of Earth’s most unique biodiversity – is approaching a critical tipping point as 90% of all primary forest cover has now been destroyed.

    The “Madagascar Protected Area Outlook 2024,” the first comprehensive analysis of its kind, documents an alarming trajectory: nearly half of Madagascar’s terrestrial Protected Areas are on track to lose their remaining primary forests within a few decades without immediate intervention.

    Key Findings

    The assessment of all 109 terrestrial Protected Areas reveals that deforestation has accelerated at an alarming rate in recent years. Critical findings include:

    • Between 2014-2023, deforestation across Madagascar exceeded an area greater than 1 soccer pitch per minute for ten years.

    • Only 10% of Madagascar’s original primary forest cover remains.

    • Projections indicate over half of all remaining forest cover in Protected Areas will be destroyed by 2026.

    • 45% of Protected Areas in Madagascar face serious to extreme forest loss.

    A Call for Immediate Action

    Solofo Rakotoarisoa, Senior Conservation Officer at Conservation Allies, stated: “This assessment fundamentally changes our understanding of the conservation crisis in Madagascar. We’ve identified the most threatened protected areas and have concrete solutions ready for implementation. What we need now is immediate international support to prevent irreversible losses.”

    Madagascar represents an irreplaceable global biodiversity treasure, with over 90% of its wildlife endemic to this isolated island in the Indian Ocean. Endangered species like the Silky sifaka, Aye-aye, and Radiated tortoise – found nowhere else on Earth – cannot survive without these rapidly disappearing habitats. Madagascar’s Protected Areas are the final barrier between thousands of unique species and extinction.

    Madagascar Protected Area Consortium partners have identified key and strategic intervention areas requiring immediate support from the donor community:

    • Strengthening enforcement of Protected Areas

    • Implementing innovative protection measures

    • Supporting sustainable community development

    Alain Liva Raharijaona, Executive Director of FAPBM (Madagascar Protected Areas and Biodiversity Fund), emphasized: “The window for action is closing fast, but with the right support, we can still preserve these irreplaceable ecosystems. This is a critical moment for the global conservation community to demonstrate its commitment to protecting biodiversity.”

    About the Madagascar Protected Areas Consortium

    The Madagascar Protected Areas Consortium is a coalition of conservation organizations working to protect Madagascar’s ecosystems. Through sustainable management initiatives and community engagement, the Consortium aims to safeguard the island’s unique biodiversity and combat the rapid deforestation crisis.

    For more information, the full report is available at: https://conservationallies.org/outlook/

    For high-resolution images to accompany your coverage of the Madagascar Protected Area Outlook 2024, please visit https://conservationallies.org/press-resources/

    Source: Conservation Allies

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