Audio Briefing on New York Declaration on Forests’ Fifth Anniversary

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Press Call Recording 9.12.2019

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Press Call Recording 9.12.2019

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Speaker Biographies	Biographies of press call participants, all of whom are available for interviews in advance or following the press call.

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Type

Biographies of press call participants, all of whom are available for interviews in advance or following the press call.

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NYDF Progress Assessment Official Website

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NYDF Progress Assessment Official Website

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Full Report: ENGLISH

Protecting Land and Forests: A Story of Large Commitments Yet Limited Progress

Five Years After the New York Declaration on Forests

Executive Summary: ENGLISH

Executive Summary: SPANISH

Executive Summary: FRENCH

Executive Summary: BAHASA INDONESIA

Fact Sheet

Fact sheet includes key findings, key messages and the a summary of 10 goals of the NYDF

Press Release: ENGLISH

NEW REPORT- Increasing and Devastating: Forest Loss Spikes Despite Five-Year-Old Pledge by Companies, Countries to Halve Deforestation by 2020

Press Release: GERMAN

Press Release: SPANISH

Quote Bank

Selection of quotes in response to the 2019 New York Declaration on Forests Assessment Report

File	Description	Type
STATEMENT: Five Reasons The Earth’s Climate Depends On Forests, October 2018	A statement signed by 40 scientists released last year with the launch of the IPCC Special Report on 1.5 Degrees. It provides a useful summary of the benefits of forests.
PRESS RELEASE: 11% of Destroyed Moist Tropical Forests Could be Restored to Boost Climate, Environment – Science Advances, 3 July 2019	Linked to report below. Researchers identified more than 100 million hectares of lost lowland tropical rain forests–restoration hotspots–spread out across Central and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia that present the most compelling opportunities for restoration to overcome rising global temperatures, water pollution and shortages, and the extinction of plant and animal life. Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar, India and Colombia have the largest accumulated area of restoration hotspots; six African countries–Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Togo, South Sudan, and Madagascar–are home to the areas presenting the best restoration opportunities on average.
STUDY: Global Restoration Opportunities in Tropical Rainforest Landscapes – Science Advances, 3 July 2019	Linked to press release above. A peer-reviewed report identifying restoration hotspots where it is feasible and beneficial to restore forests.
REPORT: Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests: Improving Governance to Protect Forests Empowering People and Communities, Strengthening Laws and Institutions – Executive Summary, November 2018	A summary of progress on the New York Declaration on Forests, a pledge by companies, governments and others to end deforestation by 2030. https://forestdeclaration.org/
REPORT: A Global Baseline of Carbon Storage in Collective Lands, Rights and Resources Initiative, September 2018	Report presenting the most comprehensive assessment to date of carbon storage in documented community lands worldwide.
STUDY: Spatially Explicit Valuation of the Brazilian Amazon Forest’s Ecosystem Services, Nature Sustainability, November 2018	Abstract: The Brazilian Amazon forest is tremendously important for its ecosystem services but attribution of economically measurable values remains scarce. Mapping these values is essential for designing conservation strategies that suitably combine regional forest protection with sustainable forest use. We estimate spatially explicit economic values for a range of ecosystem services provided by the Brazilian Amazon forest, including food production (Brazil nut), raw material provision (rubber and timber), greenhouse gas mitigation (CO₂emissions) and climate regulation (rent losses to soybean, beef and hydroelectricity production due to reduced rainfall). Our work also includes the mapping of biodiversity resources and of rent losses to timber production by fire-induced degradation. Highest values range from US$56.72 ± 10 ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ to US$737 ± 134 ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ but are restricted to only 12% of the remaining forest. Our results, presented on a web platform, identify regions where high ecosystem services values cluster together as potential information to support decision-making.
FACT SHEET: Spatially Explicit Valuation of the Brazilian Amazon Forest’s Ecosystem Services	Fact sheet about study above.
PRESS RELEASE: Clearing Tropical Rainforests Distorts Earth’s Wind and Water Systems, Packs Climate Wallop Beyond Carbon, December 2014	Linked to report below. Study presenting powerful evidence that clearing trees not only spews carbon into the atmosphere, but also triggers major shifts in rainfall and increased temperatures worldwide that are just as potent as those caused by current carbon pollution. Further, the study finds that future agricultural productivity across the globe is at risk from deforestation-induced warming and altered rainfall patterns.
STUDY: Effects of Tropical Deforestation on Climate and Agriculture, Nature Climate Change, December 2014	Linked to press release above and infographic below. Abstract: Tower, ground-based and satellite observations indicate that tropical deforestation results in warmer, drier conditions at the local scale. Understanding the regional or global impacts of deforestation on climate, and ultimately on agriculture, requires modelling. General circulation models show that completely deforesting the tropics could result in global warming equivalent to that caused by burning of fossil fuels since 1850, with more warming and considerable drying in the tropics. More realistic scenarios of deforestation yield less warming and less drying, suggesting critical thresholds beyond which rainfall is substantially reduced. In regional, mesoscale models that capture topography and vegetation-based discontinuities, small clearings can actually enhance rainfall. At this smaller scale as well, a critical deforestation threshold exists, beyond which rainfall declines. Future agricultural productivity in the tropics is at risk from a deforestation-induced increase in mean temperature and the associated heat extremes and from a decline in mean rainfall or rainfall frequency. Through teleconnections, negative impacts on agriculture could extend well beyond the tropics.
INFOGRAPHIC: The World Without Tropical Rainforests	Linked to report above. Infographic based on the study, Effects of Tropical Deforestation on Climate and Agriculture (just above) showing the long-distance impacts of destroying world’s tropical rainforests.
WORKING PAPERS: Ending Tropical Forest Deforestation, Oslo Tropical Forest Forum, June 18	The Ending Tropical Deforestation Series is a collection of working papers prepared for the Oslo Tropical Forest Forum in June 2018. The series dives in to specific topics related to tropical deforestation and provides an assessment of progress achieved and challenges ahead. Papers include the following. Ending Tropical Deforestation: Tropical Forest Monitoring: Exploring the Gaps Between What is Required and What is Possible for REDD+ and Other Initiatives Ending Tropical Deforestation: Tropical Forests and Climate Change: The Latest Science Ending Tropical Deforestation: Mining Global Financial Data to Increase Transparency and Reduce Drivers of Deforestation Ending Tropical Deforestation: The Elusive Impact of the Deforestation-Free Supply Chain Movement
POLICY BRIEF: Forests and Land Use: Undervalued Assets for Global Climate Stabilization, Woods Hole Research Center, 2017	Key points: Forests and agriculture can get us at least a quarter of the way to meeting the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5 °C. While a rapid decarbonization of the global economy remains essential, aggressive action to reduce emissions from the land sector can buy additional time for this transition. Maximizing mitigation from forests and agriculture requires protecting and restoring forests, improving agricultural practices, and shifting to more sustainable diets. This can enhance the role of the land sector as a carbon sink. Levels of funding for political attention to forests and land use do not reflect their essential role in our global response to climate change.
REPORT: Amazonian Tree Species Threatened by Deforestation and Climate Change, Nature Climate Change, July 2019	Abstract: Deforestation is currently the major threat to Amazonian tree species but climate change may surpass it in just a few decades. Here, we show that climate and deforestation combined could cause a decline of up to 58% in Amazon tree species richness, whilst deforestation alone may cause 19–36% and climate change 31–37% by 2050. Quantification is achieved by overlaying species distribution models for current and future climate change scenarios with historical and projected deforestation. Species may lose an average of 65% of their original environmentally suitable area, and a total of 53% may be threatened according to IUCN Red List criteria; however, Amazonian protected area networks reduce these impacts. The worst-case combined scenario—assuming no substantial climate or deforestation policy progress—suggests that by 2050 the Amazonian lowland rainforest may be cut into two blocks: one continuous block with 53% of the original area and another severely fragmented block. This outlook urges rapid progress to zero deforestation, which would help to mitigate climate change and foster biodiversity conservation.

File

Description

Type

STATEMENT: Five Reasons The Earth’s Climate Depends On Forests, October 2018

A statement signed by 40 scientists released last year with the launch of the IPCC Special Report on 1.5 Degrees. It provides a useful summary of the benefits of forests.

PRESS RELEASE: 11% of Destroyed Moist Tropical Forests Could be Restored to Boost Climate, Environment – Science Advances, 3 July 2019

Linked to report below.

Researchers identified more than 100 million hectares of lost lowland tropical rain forests–restoration hotspots–spread out across Central and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia that present the most compelling opportunities for restoration to overcome rising global temperatures, water pollution and shortages, and the extinction of plant and animal life. Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar, India and Colombia have the largest accumulated area of restoration hotspots; six African countries–Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Togo, South Sudan, and Madagascar–are home to the areas presenting the best restoration opportunities on average.

STUDY: Global Restoration Opportunities in Tropical Rainforest Landscapes – Science Advances, 3 July 2019

Linked to press release above.

A peer-reviewed report identifying restoration hotspots where it is feasible and beneficial to restore forests.

REPORT: Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests: Improving Governance to Protect Forests Empowering People and Communities, Strengthening Laws and Institutions – Executive Summary, November 2018

A summary of progress on the New York Declaration on Forests, a pledge by companies, governments and others to end deforestation by 2030. https://forestdeclaration.org/

REPORT: A Global Baseline of Carbon Storage in Collective Lands, Rights and Resources Initiative, September 2018

Report presenting the most comprehensive assessment to date of carbon storage in documented community lands worldwide.

STUDY: Spatially Explicit Valuation of the Brazilian Amazon Forest’s Ecosystem Services, Nature Sustainability, November 2018

Abstract:

The Brazilian Amazon forest is tremendously important for its ecosystem services but attribution of economically measurable values remains scarce. Mapping these values is essential for designing conservation strategies that suitably combine regional forest protection with sustainable forest use. We estimate spatially explicit economic values for a range of ecosystem services provided by the Brazilian Amazon forest, including food production (Brazil nut), raw material provision (rubber and timber), greenhouse gas mitigation (CO₂emissions) and climate regulation (rent losses to soybean, beef and hydroelectricity production due to reduced rainfall). Our work also includes the mapping of biodiversity resources and of rent losses to timber production by fire-induced degradation. Highest values range from US$56.72 ± 10 ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ to US$737 ± 134 ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ but are restricted to only 12% of the remaining forest. Our results, presented on a web platform, identify regions where high ecosystem services values cluster together as potential information to support decision-making.

FACT SHEET: Spatially Explicit Valuation of the Brazilian Amazon Forest’s Ecosystem Services

Fact sheet about study above.

PRESS RELEASE: Clearing Tropical Rainforests Distorts Earth’s Wind and Water Systems, Packs Climate Wallop Beyond Carbon, December 2014

Linked to report below.

Study presenting powerful evidence that clearing trees not only spews carbon into the atmosphere, but also triggers major shifts in rainfall and increased temperatures worldwide that are just as potent as those caused by current carbon pollution. Further, the study finds that future agricultural productivity across the globe is at risk from deforestation-induced warming and altered rainfall patterns.

STUDY: Effects of Tropical Deforestation on Climate and Agriculture, Nature Climate Change, December 2014

Linked to press release above and infographic below.

Abstract:

Tower, ground-based and satellite observations indicate that tropical deforestation results in warmer, drier conditions at the local scale. Understanding the regional or global impacts of deforestation on climate, and ultimately on agriculture, requires modelling. General circulation models show that completely deforesting the tropics could result in global warming equivalent to that caused by burning of fossil fuels since 1850, with more warming and considerable drying in the tropics. More realistic scenarios of deforestation yield less warming and less drying, suggesting critical thresholds beyond which rainfall is substantially reduced. In regional, mesoscale models that capture topography and vegetation-based discontinuities, small clearings can actually enhance rainfall. At this smaller scale as well, a critical deforestation threshold exists, beyond which rainfall declines. Future agricultural productivity in the tropics is at risk from a deforestation-induced increase in mean temperature and the associated heat extremes and from a decline in mean rainfall or rainfall frequency. Through teleconnections, negative impacts on agriculture could extend well beyond the tropics.

INFOGRAPHIC: The World Without Tropical Rainforests

Linked to report above.

Infographic based on the study, Effects of Tropical Deforestation on Climate and Agriculture (just above) showing the long-distance impacts of destroying world’s tropical rainforests.

WORKING PAPERS: Ending Tropical Forest Deforestation, Oslo Tropical Forest Forum, June 18

The Ending Tropical Deforestation Series is a collection of working papers prepared for the Oslo Tropical Forest Forum in June 2018. The series dives in to specific topics related to tropical deforestation and provides an assessment of progress achieved and challenges ahead. Papers include the following.

Ending Tropical Deforestation: Tropical Forest Monitoring: Exploring the Gaps Between What is Required and What is Possible for REDD+ and Other Initiatives
Ending Tropical Deforestation: Tropical Forests and Climate Change: The Latest Science
Ending Tropical Deforestation: Mining Global Financial Data to Increase Transparency and Reduce Drivers of Deforestation
Ending Tropical Deforestation: The Elusive Impact of the Deforestation-Free Supply Chain Movement

POLICY BRIEF: Forests and Land Use: Undervalued Assets for Global Climate Stabilization, Woods Hole Research Center, 2017

Key points:

Forests and agriculture can get us at least a quarter of the way to meeting the Paris
Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5 °C. While a rapid decarbonization of the
global economy remains essential, aggressive action to reduce emissions from the land
sector can buy additional time for this transition.
Maximizing mitigation from forests and agriculture requires protecting and restoring
forests, improving agricultural practices, and shifting to more sustainable diets. This can
enhance the role of the land sector as a carbon sink.
Levels of funding for political attention to forests and land use do not reflect their
essential role in our global response to climate change.

REPORT: Amazonian Tree Species Threatened by Deforestation and Climate Change, Nature Climate Change, July 2019

Abstract:

Deforestation is currently the major threat to Amazonian tree species but climate change may surpass it in just a few decades. Here, we show that climate and deforestation combined could cause a decline of up to 58% in Amazon tree species richness, whilst deforestation alone may cause 19–36% and climate change 31–37% by 2050. Quantification is achieved by overlaying species distribution models for current and future climate change scenarios with historical and projected deforestation. Species may lose an average of 65% of their original environmentally suitable area, and a total of 53% may be threatened according to IUCN Red List criteria; however, Amazonian protected area networks reduce these impacts. The worst-case combined scenario—assuming no substantial climate or deforestation policy progress—suggests that by 2050 the Amazonian lowland rainforest may be cut into two blocks: one continuous block with 53% of the original area and another severely fragmented block. This outlook urges rapid progress to zero deforestation, which would help to mitigate climate change and foster biodiversity conservation.

Press Call & Launch of the New York Declaration on Forests Assessment Report

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Press Call Recording

Press Call Details

Report and Supporting Press Materials

Background Information

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