SAO PAULO - The world is moving too slowly to meet pledges to end deforestation by 2030, with destruction worsening in 2022, according to a report by a coalition of environmental organisations released on Monday.

More than 140 countries – representing the vast majority of the world’s woodlands – pledged at the 2021 United Nations climate summit in Glasgow to halt and reverse forest loss and degradation by the end of the decade.

Yet, deforestation increased by 4 per cent worldwide in 2022 compared with 2021, as some 66,000 sq km were destroyed, the annual Forest Declaration Assessment report said. That means the world is 21 per cent off track to end deforestation by 2030.

“The world’s forests are in crisis. The opportunity to make progress is passing us by,” said Ms Erin Matson, a senior consultant at environmental group Climate Focus.

The report was conducted by a coalition of civil society and research organisations which assess progress towards pledges to eliminate deforestation by 2030.

That includes the Glasgow pledge and the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests, which saw a shorter list of countries, as well as dozens of the world’s biggest companies, make a similar commitment.

Efforts to preserve old-growth tropical forests – prized for their dense carbon content and rich biodiversity – are 33 per cent off track, with 4.1 million hectares lost in 2022, according to the study.

In a news briefing, the researchers involved in the report stressed that the annual US$2.2 billion (S$3 billion) in public funds channelled to projects to protect forests every year is a fraction of the investment needed.

The study also looked beyond deforestation to analyse forest degradation, with one researcher estimating the area of degraded forests to be much larger than the area of global deforestation.

Drivers of forest degradation include logging activities, livestock grazing and road construction, according to Climate Focus.

But some parts of the world are making progress, said Ms Franziska Haupt, a lead author and managing partner at Climate Focus.

Ms Haupt said that some 50 countries are on track to end forest loss, with Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia showing drastic reductions in deforestation.

“Hope isn’t lost,” she said. “These countries set clear examples that others must follow.”  

Brazil, which is responsible for around 30 per cent of the world’s deforestation, has seen a significant turnaround, with a new government which is much more committed to fighting deforestation than the last, said a WWF Brazil representative during the news conference.

“This showcases what could happen when countries with good laws and the books actually invest in enforcing them,” said Mr Darragh Conway, lead on rights for the Forest Declaration Assessment. REUTERS