The state of things, 2026
Down 36% on the 2024 record, yet still 46% above a decade ago.
Global Forest Watch35,803 populations of 5,790 species; freshwater species −85%.
WWF Living Planet Report 2026The first Global Tree Assessment covered 47,282 species.
IUCN Red ListFound by the first global review at COP17 in Yerevan.
UN Biodiversity COP17The global forest at a glance
Forests hold most of the planet’s land biodiversity and a vast store of carbon. Deforestation has slowed in every region, but new forest is also appearing more slowly — 6.78 million hectares a year, down from 9.88 million in 2000–2015.
32% of the world’s land area.
FAO FRA 2025Average for 2015–2025, down from the 1990s.
FAO FRA 2025Alongside 630 billion m³ of growing stock.
FAO FRA 2025But that area shrank by 324 million ha since 1990.
FAO FRA 2025Latest reports
Summaries are ours; follow each link for the full report. Figures are as published by the original source on the date shown.
The first global review of the Kunming–Montreal framework found countries falling behind on 22 of 23 targets for 2030. The $20 billion-a-year finance goal for 2025 was missed, and the shape of a post-2030 funding mechanism was deferred to COP18 in 2028.
Why it matters: Global targets will only be met through local delivery — restoration that measurably recovers habitats.
Carbon Brief
The Tropical Forest Forever Facility aims to grow to $125 billion and pay countries roughly $4 per hectare each year for forest kept standing, verified by satellite. Brazil, Indonesia, the UK, Norway, France and Germany have also pledged; the fund should be operational by mid-2027.
Why it matters: Paying for intact forest recognises what we stand for: protection first, planting second.
The Jakarta Post / Reuters
Across 1970–2022, monitored populations fell by about 2.5% a year. South America saw the steepest decline (−95%), Africa −80%. Habitat loss and degradation remain the most cited threat — but tigers, southern African elephants and green sea turtles show targeted conservation works.
Why it matters: Habitat is the lever. Restoring connected native woodland gives wildlife room to recover.
WWFOnly Austria, Bulgaria, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain filed draft national restoration plans on time. The law requires restoration measures on at least 20% of EU land and sea by 2030 and on all ecosystems in need by 2050.
Why it matters: National plans will decide where restoration happens — local groups can help shape them.
EunewsAfter two delays, the EU Deforestation Regulation is due to apply at the end of 2026. The Commission’s scope update adds soluble coffee and some palm-oil derivatives from December 2027, but removes leather and several rubber products.
Why it matters: What we buy shapes forests far from home — the law makes that link traceable.
The Brussels Times
The tropics lost 4.3 million hectares of primary forest in 2025, 36% less than in 2024; Brazil’s non-fire loss hit a record low. Globally, fire drove 42% of 25.5 million hectares of tree cover loss. Canada lost 5.3 million hectares to wildfire, and France recorded its highest fire loss ever.
Why it matters: Deforestation is still about 70% above the path needed to halt it by 2030.
Global Forest Watch / WRIAbout 415,000 m³ of spruce was infested in 2025, 27% less than a year earlier. Eighteen cantons saw declines, while Graubünden, Glarus and Valais recorded increases after heavy wet-snow damage. The WSL says this is “no reason to breathe a sigh of relief”.
Why it matters: Mixed, native, uneven-aged stands are far more resilient than spruce monocultures.
WSL via blue News
Europe’s forests cover 232 million hectares across 45 countries. Deadwood rose from 11.5 to 14 m³/ha and protected forest from 23.6% to 26.4% — but trees with moderate to severe defoliation increased to 31.1%, and annual growth slowed to 0.3%.
Why it matters: Good news for beetles and fungi; a warning sign for forest health under climate stress.
Forest Europe via EUSTAFORGo deeper
Headlines move fast. Our briefings take the same reports further — the methods behind the numbers, the arguments in the negotiating rooms and the lessons for restoration on the ground.
215 million hectares of tropical land could regrow naturally — at a fraction of the cost of planting.
Read the briefing Briefing 02Forty years of data from Peru: 5% deforestation on titled Indigenous land, 18% outside.
Read the briefing Briefing 03Subsidies, genetic data, nature credits and the oceans — what COP17 decided and dodged.
Read the briefing Briefing 04How a $125 billion fund plans to reward tropical forest protection by satellite.
Read the briefing Briefing 05More deadwood and mixed stands, but slowing growth and rising defoliation.
Read the briefing Briefing 06Fire now drives 42% of global tree cover loss — from Canada to Bolivia to France.
Read the briefingInside COP17 · Yerevan, 19–31 October 2026
The first global stocktake of the Kunming–Montreal framework concluded that its goals “will not be achieved” unless action is rapidly accelerated. Only 45% of countries published updated national biodiversity strategies in time for the review, although 83% submitted at least one national target.
Developed countries missed the $20 billion-a-year goal for 2025, and environmental funding is projected to drop 27% in 2026–30. The form of a post-2030 finance mechanism was left to COP18.
Target 18 calls for cutting nature-harming subsidies by at least $500 billion a year by 2030, yet 84% of countries missed the 2025 deadline just to identify them.
A permanent body for Indigenous peoples and local communities now has its working rules, and half of the Cali Fund is earmarked for their needs — though the fund held under $9,000.
Country watch · 2025 data
Global Forest Watch’s annual data show a mixed picture: agriculture remained the leading cause of tropical tree cover loss, mining is an emerging threat, and fire is reshaping forests from the Amazon to the boreal north. Here is how eight key countries fared.
| Region | Change in primary forest loss, 2025 vs 2024 |
|---|---|
| Tropics overall | -36% |
| Brazil | -42% |
| Peru | -8% |
| DR Congo | -5% |
| Indonesia | +14% |
Primary forest loss fell 42%; non-fire loss hit a record low. A relaunched anti-deforestation plan coordinates 19 federal agencies, and environmental fines rose 63% in 2023–2025.
Second-highest primary loss on record despite having 60% less primary forest than the DR Congo — driven by likely human-set fires, cattle ranching and soy.
Loss fell 5%, but non-fire loss hit a record. Small-scale shifting cultivation caused 86% of primary loss since 2002 in the world’s largest remaining tropical carbon sink.
Loss rose 14%, linked to nickel mining in Sulawesi and the government’s food estate programme in South Papua — still well below mid-2010s rates.
Highest primary forest loss on record, linked to cocoa expansion — Cameroon is Africa’s third-largest producer — and communities displaced by conflict.
Loss fell 8%, but gold mining caused 33% of primary forest loss in the Madre de Dios region between 2002 and 2025.
5.3 million ha lost to wildfire and more than 80,000 people evacuated. Fire loss in 2023–2025 averaged nearly five times the 2001–2022 level.
France’s fire-driven tree cover loss was seven times its 2024 level; in Spain and Portugal fire caused about 60% of all tree cover loss.
EU Nature Restoration Law
Each plan must say which areas will be restored, with which measures, on what timeline and with what money — and how it fits with farming, water, climate, forestry and fisheries policy. Calling the regulation “new and complex”, the European Commission is helping late countries finish rather than opening infringement cases.
of EU land and sea must have restoration measures in place
Submitted its draft on 31 August 2026, one day before the deadline; Brussels is now assessing it.
Its public consultation closed on 10 July, but the plan was not filed by 1 September.
Presented a draft for public consultation in April 2026, yet missed the submission deadline.
France’s plan is undergoing environmental assessment without a final cost estimate; Poland is still drafting.
What to watch next
Forest researchers point to three signals that will show whether the 2025 slowdown in tropical loss becomes a lasting turnaround — or a pause. Elections in Brazil and Colombia will also influence whether recent declines hold.
EU Deforestation Regulation applies
Supply chains“Friends of target 18” report on harmful subsidies
BiodiversityTropical Forest Forever Facility due to start paying out
Forest financeSoluble coffee and palm-oil derivatives join EUDR scope
Supply chainsCOP18 in Quito decides post-2030 finance
BiodiversityKunming–Montreal targets and 20% EU restoration due
DeadlineExpected El Niño conditions will test how well countries prevent and fight large forest fires.
The Tropical Forest Forever Facility must attract enough investment to start paying out by mid-2027.
How strictly the EU Deforestation Regulation is applied from December 2026 will shape commodity markets.
Be part of a world where forests — and all life within them — flourish.