António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in the report’s foreword, warned that forests are increasingly threatened by “deforestation, rising temperatures, economic uncertainty and geopolitical divisions”.
The assessment concluded that the world remains “off track” in reversing forest loss by 2030 despite ongoing restoration and conservation programmes.
Primary forests, which are crucial for biodiversity conservation and carbon storage, also continued to decline. The world lost 16 million hectares of primary forests during the decade, with South America accounting for the largest share of losses.
The report showed that climate-linked pressures such as droughts, wildfires, heatwaves, pests and diseases are intensifying forest degradation. While countries have introduced wildfire prevention systems, forest monitoring tools and reforestation drives, these actions are not keeping pace with the scale of climate impacts.
Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said stronger global commitment would be necessary to meet forest goals by 2030.
“The findings remind us that achieving the Global Forest Goals by 2030 will require scaled-up ambition, significantly increased finance, stronger institutions and sustained political commitment across all sectors,” he said.
Globally, forests cover 4.14 billion hectares and support biodiversity, food security, livelihoods, water systems and climate regulation. Yet, the report noted, forest ecosystems continue to face growing pressure from land-use change and energy dependence.
According to the report, 91 countries have pledged to restore around 190 million hectares of forests, although only 44 million hectares had been restored by 2025. Asia recorded the highest progress, restoring more than 31 million hectares, or 42.2 per cent of the pledged area.
The report called for stronger cross-sector coordination, increased financing for sustainable forest management and the development of deforestation-free supply chains. It also stressed the need to expand access to cleaner energy alternatives to reduce dependence on fuelwood and charcoal.
