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SDG 15 - Life on Land
Indicator 15.2.1 - Progress towards sustainable forest management

This indicator measures progress towards Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) through five subindicators. As an aid to interpretation, a dashboard of traffic lights is used, with green, yellow and red indicating the direction and rate of change in each of the subindicators. The indicator will contribute to track progress towards SDG Target 15.2.

Target 15.2

By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.

Indicator 15.2.1: Progress Assessment
Impact

Together with indicator 15.1.1, this indicator ensures forests are efficiently managed, and a better balance is struck between conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

Key results
The global progress towards sustainable forest management is evident; however, a high rate of forest loss persists.

In 2023, 389 million ha of forest were under a certification scheme, marking a 13 percent increase, equivalent to around 46 million ha since 2010. Despite this overall positive trend, forests under a certification scheme decreased by 56 million ha (12 percent) between 2022 and 2023, primarily linked to the suspension of certificates in Europe due to ongoing conflicts. Europe and Northern America collectively represented 79 percent of the certified forest area in 2023.

Globally, the proportion of forest area within protected areas increased from 17 percent to 18 percent from 2010 to 2020. Central Asia showed the highest proportion of forest in protected areas in 2020 (59 percent), along with the highest relative increase since 2010 (12 percent). Conversely, Europe and North America exhibit the lowest proportion, with only 6 percent of their forests within protected areas.
Highlights

Multimedia
SDG 15 - Indicators of sustainable forests and mountains
01/01/2019

An overview of SDG indicators 15.1.1, 15.2.1, 15.4.2, measuring forest area, mountain vegetation cover, and sustainable management...

Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators (2022)
01/09/2022

Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators offers detailed analyses and trends on selected indicators for which...

Capacity development

19/9

2022

Report's launch: "Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators 2022"
Hybrid Event, 19/09/2022

Seven years into the 2030 Agenda, there is an urgent need to understand where the world stands in eliminating hunger and food insecurity, as well as in ensuring sustainable agriculture. FAO's new report, “Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators”, offers analysis and trends on indicators across eight SDGs (1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 12, 14 and 15), highlighting areas o...