Global leaders who have pledged to halt deforestation by 2030 must move quickly to strengthen forest protection laws, line up funding and include indigenous people in conservation efforts to have the best chance of success, environmentalists have said.
Last month, more than 100 leaders agreed to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, underpinned by $19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests.
The commitment — made at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow and backed by forest-rich countries such as Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo — covers forests totaling more than 33.7 million square kilometers (13 million square miles).