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Today, more than 100 world leaders have promised to end and reverse deforestation by 2030 at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference. The pledge, which includes almost $19.2 billion of public and private funds, is a landmark move for nature.

Research shows that a forest the size of Portugal is ripped from the earth each year, driving climate change and a host of other environmental crises, including wildfires, species extinction, and food insecurity.

A 2020 report from UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization found that, in the past 30 years,  420 million hectares of forest had been lost through conversion to other land uses (which is larger than the size of India), and that another 100 million hectares are at risk.

“Deforestation and forest degradation continue to take place at alarming rates, which contributes significantly to the ongoing loss of biodiversity,” the report stated. It warned that the Sustainable Development Goals would not be met by 2030 unless dramatic changes occurred in the agroforestry, agribusiness and agriculture sectors.

This critical issue has not gone unnoticed. For the last five decades, UN agencies, development institutions, governments, conservationists, the private sector and other key stakeholders have worked together to help protect the world’s forests, many of which are buckling under various pressures, including agriculture, resource extraction and illegal logging.

Working as a convener and catalyst, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has played an important role in supporting the global movement to slow deforestation, one that has made an impact everywhere from Vietnam to Mexico.

One innovative initiative, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), has played a central role in combating climate change. The protection and restoration of forests is also tied directly to the current UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The decade aims to prevent and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide and is led by UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

“The growing enthusiasm for forests and trees is a good thing,” said Tim Christophersen, Head of UNEP’s Nature for Climate branch. “Ecosystem restoration will be critical in turning the tide against climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The first rule for ecosystem restoration is to stop the further destruction of forests, wetlands and other critical green infrastructure.”