Farms, fires main culprits as world falls far behind deforestation goals

The world is falling far behind a global goal to reverse deforestation by 2030, with losses being largely driven by agricultural expansion and forest fires, according to the 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment.

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The report said the world permanently lost 8.1 million hectares of forest, an area about the size of England, in 2024 alone, putting the planet 63 per cent behind the goal set by over 140 countries in the 2021 Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use.

The Forest Declaration Assessment brings together research organisations, think-tanks, nongovernmental organisations and advocacy groups, and the report was coordinated by advisory company Climate Focus.

Fires were the leading cause of forest loss, accounting for 6.73 million of those hectares around the world, with the Amazon rainforest hit particularly hard, releasing nearly 800 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from fires in 2024.