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| New York Declaration on Forests | |
|---|---|
| Name | New York Declaration on Forests |
| Date signed | 2014 |
| Location signed | United Nations Headquarters, New York City |
| Parties | Governments, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations, indigenous peoples organizations, philanthropy |
| Purpose | Voluntary commitment to halve natural forest loss by 2020 and end it by 2030 |
New York Declaration on Forests The New York Declaration on Forests is a voluntary international declaration launched in 2014 at the United Nations Climate Summit held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. It brought together heads of state, business leaders, and non-state actors to commit to halting deforestation, restoring degraded lands, and transforming supply chains. The Declaration sits at the intersection of initiatives such as the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, and efforts by World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and major philanthropy foundations.
The Declaration emerged from negotiations and advocacy involving actors including the United Nations, the Government of Norway, the Government of United Kingdom, the Government of United States, and civil society networks such as Global Canopy Programme and World Resources Institute. It was announced alongside pledges and parallel initiatives from organizations like Conservation International, Greenpeace, WWF, and the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. Influences included prior instruments such as the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and national programs like Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative. Private sector engagement drew on commitments similar to those of Consumer Goods Forum members, Unilever, Nestlé, and commodity traders operating in regions like the Amazon Rainforest, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia.
The Declaration set time-bound targets: halve natural forest loss by 2020 and end it by 2030, restore hundreds of millions of hectares of degraded land, and remove deforestation from commodity supply chains, notably for soybeans, palm oil, beef, and pulp and paper. It aligned with conservation targets in the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and reflected obligations considered under the Paris Agreement climate mitigation pathways. The text encouraged support for indigenous peoples' rights, land tenure reforms, and sustainable finance mobilized by institutions such as UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative and the International Finance Corporation.
Signatories included nation-states such as Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Germany, France, and subnational actors including California and Amazonas (Brazilian state). Corporate signatories ranged from listed companies like Mondelēz International and Kraft Foods Group to traders and retailers. Civil society participants included The Nature Conservancy, Rainforest Alliance, Oxfam International, and indigenous groups represented through bodies like the Congo Basin Forest Partnership and regional coalitions in Papua New Guinea and Peru. Philanthropic supporters included the Climate and Land Use Alliance and foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Ford Foundation.
Implementation relied on public-private partnerships, jurisdictional approaches, and supply-chain verification systems. Tools and standards used included REDD+ frameworks, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification, Forest Stewardship Council accreditation, and traceability platforms developed by organizations like Global Canopy Programme and Chain of Custody schemes adopted by commodity traders. Financial mechanisms invoked included green bonds promoted by International Capital Market Association and blended finance models employed by Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and Green Climate Fund–aligned projects.
Progress reporting has been coordinated by entities such as New York Declaration on Forests Global Platform partners, Global Forest Watch, and research institutions including Ellen MacArthur Foundation collaborators, World Resources Institute, and University of Maryland remote-sensing teams. Independent analyses from Climate Policy Initiative and academic groups at Oxford University and Yale University tracked forest cover change, commodity-driven deforestation, and restoration pledges. Reports showed mixed results: some jurisdictions reported reduced deforestation rates, while others saw ongoing losses tied to agricultural expansion in regions like the Amazon Rainforest and Borneo.
Critiques came from scholars at institutions like Harvard University and London School of Economics and NGOs including Greenpeace and Fern, arguing voluntary commitments lacked enforceability and were undermined by weak land tenure reforms and conflicting national policies. Controversies involved accusations against corporate signatories—such as traders linked to deforestation in Sumatra and Para (state)—and debates over the effectiveness of certification schemes like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and Forest Stewardship Council. Indigenous advocates tied to Survival International and regional federations criticized insufficient safeguards for indigenous rights and participatory consent processes.
Despite limitations, the Declaration catalyzed jurisdictional initiatives, influenced corporate zero-deforestation policies adopted by members of the Consumer Goods Forum, and contributed to the proliferation of monitoring tools such as Global Forest Watch. It informed subsequent policy frameworks, reinforced links between deforestation and climate change mitigation in the Paris Agreement era, and spurred new funding streams via actors like Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and private foundations. The Declaration’s legacy persists in ongoing dialogues among multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, UN Environment Programme, and regional bodies addressing forest governance in the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization and Central African Forest Commission.
Category:Environmental agreements