Posted on September, 21 2022

WWF welcomes the announcement today of the new Forests and Climate Leaders' Partnership by the COP26 Presidency. The Partnership aims to accelerate implementation of the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration by paving the way for governments and partners to work together to protect, conserve and restore the world’s forests, support sustainable development and promote inclusive rural transformation.

Fran Price, Lead, WWF Global Forest Practice, said:
"WWF appreciates the action-oriented approach proposed through the Forests and Climate Leaders' Partnership. It’s critical that deforestation is taken up at the highest level of government and that coordinated and targeted actions and partnerships are formed to address the global challenge to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. The Partnership should also help provide solutions to channel and grant access to the finance promised in the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration. 

Deforestation is rising at alarming rates in some geographies with devastating impacts globally, from fires to floods. In the Brazilian Amazon alone, the number of fires hit a 12-year high in August. Actions by governments are just not fast enough to keep up with the scale and speed of forest loss. Despite the positive momentum around forest conservation, and more financial commitments, the reality is that in most places, business-as-usual has not changed and the drivers of deforestation like unsustainable agriculture and forestry, and mining, are only expanding. 

In this context, it’s critical that the Partnership clearly states its goal, how it will complement or be aligned with other global initiatives, and what actions will be taken to move from promises to accountability, implementation and impact. This process must include consultation and collaboration with civil society and especially Indigenous People and local communities, who will play a critical role in implementation.”

The first meeting of the new Partnership will take place at UNFCCC COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. We urge the Partnership to collectively push and help implement demand-side legislation to halt the imports of commodities linked to deforestation and related human rights violations, recognizing the landmark vote in the European Parliament for a strong deforestation law. WWF also urges the Partnership to take action on illegal logging and timber trade, a critical but neglected component in addressing global deforestation. An estimated 15-30% of all timber traded globally is illegal, and up to 90% in some tropical countries.