Deforestation is finally slowing, but tropical forests remain under pressure
10.9 million hectares of forests disappear each year between 2015 and 2025, compared to 17.6 million in the 1990s. This 38% reduction in global deforestation confirms that conservation policies can be effective at large scale. 813 million hectares of forests now benefit from legal protection status, representing one-fifth of global forest cover.
Yet 88% of deforestation continues to concentrate in tropical zones, where agricultural expansion accounts for 88% of forest destruction. This paradox reveals a major economic challenge: slowing global deforestation is insufficient in the face of the intensity of agricultural pressure in regions most critical for biodiversity and climate.
The essentials
- Annual deforestation fell from 17.6 million hectares (1990-2000) to 10.9 million (2015-2025)
- $527 million invested in 2024 in indigenous land rights, for a total of $1.86 billion over four years
- 2024: fires cause damage for the first time exceeding agriculture in primary tropical forests
- Indigenous peoples protect 40% of remaining intact ecosystems but less than half their lands are legally recognized
Conservation successes prove its effectiveness
Net forest loss declined from 10.7 million hectares per year in the 1990s to 4.12 million between 2015 and 2025. This notable improvement is no accident. Forest conservation experts agree: political will and effective law enforcement constitute the determining factors for forest protection.
Brazil illustrates this dynamic: Amazon deforestation declined 30.6% in 2024, reaching its lowest level in nine years with 6,288 square kilometers cleared. This improvement follows a three-year trend, attributed to strengthened controls against illegal exploitation under the Lula administration.
Indonesia confirms this effectiveness: primary forest loss declined 11% in 2024, and Malaysia recorded a 13% decrease, dropping out of the top 10 countries most affected by deforestation. These results validate the enforcement approach: Brazil was in a similar situation to Indonesia’s current position before implementing an aggressive forest law enforcement policy that enabled it to significantly reduce deforestation.
Indigenous communities emerge as primary guardians
Securing land rights for indigenous peoples and local communities constitutes one of the most effective investments for climate action according to significant scientific evidence. These populations protect approximately 40% of remaining intact ecosystems.
Financing follows this recognition. In 2024, signatories to the COP26 commitment on forest land rights provided nearly $527 million. Over four years, they mobilized $1.86 billion, exceeding their $1.7 billion commitment. More than 35 governmental and philanthropic donors announced a new commitment of $1.8 billion over five years to support indigenous peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant communities.
Science confirms this effectiveness: peer-reviewed research in 2023 established that deforestation rates are significantly lower in indigenous territories or on lands managed by indigenous peoples. Forests managed by indigenous peoples and local communities consistently show lower deforestation rates than other zones.
This effectiveness comes with dramatic human cost. Between 2012 and 2024, more than 2,200 environmental defenders—most of them indigenous—were killed for protecting their territories. Economic inequality can fuel conflicts over natural resources.
Tropical concentration reveals an unresolved economic challenge
95% of global deforestation concentrates in the tropics, where Global Forest Watch researchers estimate annual deforestation around 4 million hectares. Cattle ranching remains the primary driver, responsible for 41% of tropical deforestation. Cattle ranching expansion in Brazil alone represents 24% of global tropical deforestation.
In 2024, primary tropical forest loss reached 6.7 million hectares, nearly double 2023 and equivalent to Panama’s area, at a rate of 18 football fields per minute. This year: primary tropical forest loss caused by fires reached 3.2 million hectares, a 370% increase from 690,000 hectares in 2023. For the first time, fires surpassed agriculture as the leading cause of destruction.
This shift reveals the complex interaction between climate change and deforestation. Drought conditions linked to the El Niño cycle dried forests across the Amazon, Bolivia, and Central Africa, causing fires in zones that normally experience none. Climate models project more frequent and severe fire seasons with rising global temperatures.
Europe engages the global regulatory battle
The 2024 elections in the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil introduced uncertainties into climate and conservation policies. In this shifting context, Europe transforms its regulation into a geopolitical influence tool.
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), entering into force soon, requires European companies to certify that their supply chains do not contribute to deforestation. This binding regulatory approach contrasts with voluntary mechanisms that have largely failed.
The American Tropical Forest Conservation Act demonstrates the effectiveness of targeted financial mechanisms: it has protected more than 68 million hectares of tropical forests in 25 years, generating more than $248 million in debt reduction agreements in 14 countries and mobilizing more than $360 million for conservation.
Green financing scales up but remains insufficient
Since the 2021 COP26 commitment, annual financing increased 46% compared to the previous four-year period, reaching an average of $728 million per year. Direct financing to indigenous peoples’ organizations and local communities represented 7.6% of total financing in 2024, a slight decline from 2023.
This growth masks a more complex reality. 8.1 million hectares of forests were lost in 2024, a destruction level 63% higher than the trajectory necessary to stop deforestation by 2030. While some countries and sectors show progress, global action has not matched the urgency of world commitments.
The paradox is striking: funds must reach indigenous peoples and local communities directly, without remaining blocked in bureaucracy, and land titling processes must treat them as partners.
Deforestation is slowing globally, but tropical urgency intensifies. Indigenous communities prove their effectiveness with growing financial support but face escalating threats. The challenge is no longer technical but political: transforming local successes into systemic victories before climate change renders tropical forest ungovernable.