Posted on December, 01 2022

The new global biodiversity framework, to be agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), aims to halt and reverse the loss of nature by 2030. To truly deliver a nature-positive future, the framework must reflect the importance of forests. Forests are home to more than half of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects, and contain 60,000 tree species, 80% of amphibian species, 75% of birds and 68% of mammals. Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood, including 70 million Indigenous peoples. 
 
In addition, to set the course for a nature-positive world by 2030, it is also critical to address the drivers of biodiversity loss, the number one being the destruction and degradation of natural habitats - forests, grasslands, savannahs, peatlands and wetlands. Behind this destruction lies an unsustainable model of production and consumption that must be addressed. 

WWF has produced two policy briefings on forests and the global biodiversity framework, complementing WWF’s overall recommendations:

1. The role of forests in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework briefing outlines what a "forest-proof" framework needs to deliver. As forest-specific targets that existed under the Aichi Targets will be replaced by broader metrics on terrestrial ecosystems under the emerging global biodiversity framework, it is important that negotiators do not lose sight of the importance of forests. Forest-relevant targets and indicators under the new global biodiversity framework should align with, complement and set the right conditions to achieve existing 2030 forest commitments and goals such as under the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, the UN Strategic Plan for Forests, and the Bonn Challenge. 
2. Deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework outlines what's needed to strengthen Target 15 through legal, regulatory and policy measures. A strong government mandate on deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains within the framework of the CBD would demonstrate true political leadership, increase accountability and transparency, provide clarity and level the playing field for private sector actions.