Collaborative Partnership on Forests

Afrormosia growing scheme at the Compagnie Forestiere et de Transformation (CFT) in Kisangani, DRC.

Turning the tide on deforestation

Lead agencies: FAO, UNEP, UNDP 
Timeframe: 2021–2024 
Contribution to the GFGs: 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 

This initiative aims to upscale global ambitions to address deforestation in response to the UN Secretary-General’s 2019 call to “Turn the Tide on Deforestation”. It aims to keep forests high on the global climate agenda and enhances the integration of forests into countries' Nationally Determined Contributions. It also focuses on advocacy and scaling up ongoing efforts across and beyond the UN system to halt deforestation, following the UN Secretary-General’s initiative and consecutive recommendations. 

This Joint Initiative’s activities include:

  • Accelerate global advocacy efforts to bring forests into political agendas and discussions on climate change, biodiversity, agriculture, and socio-economic issues and to change perceptions of the challenges and opportunities associated with, inter alia, turning the tide on deforestation, wildfires, and forest solutions to the planetary crises.
  • Support the scaling up of existing solutions and promote innovative and integrated approaches to halting deforestation, solving multiple planetary crises and feeding the world.
  • Address the fragmentation of finance for forests and support the mainstreaming of forest finance in development plans at all levels and facilitate access to finance for activities targeted at halting deforestation and conserving, restoring and sustainably managing forests. 

Forests act as essential climate regulators, serving as carbon sinks and helping mitigate extreme weather events. They cover 31% of Earth’s land area, totaling just over 4 billion hectares, and support nearly 6 billion people worldwide by providing non-timber forest products essential for daily needs. Additionally, around 3.3 billion people live within one kilometer of a forest, relying on them for crucial resources and livelihoods.

Halting deforestation is not only vital for addressing climate change but also essential for achieving global sustainability targets, as called for in the SDGs, the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030, and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.