The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) has launched the first global synthesis report on international forest governance in 14 years. The report analyzes developments in international forest governance since 2010, when the IUFRO-led Global Forest Expert Panel (GFEP) published its last global assessment.

The launch event took place in the margins of the 19th session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF19) on 10 May 2024.

According to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary of the event, forests “represent significant economic value and hold vast intrinsic and aesthetic worth.” While progress has been made in reducing global deforestation rates through international forest governance mechanisms, climate change, biodiversity loss, and increasing social and economic inequalities continue to pose significant challenges.

The report titled, ‘International Forest Governance: A Critical Review of Trends, Drawbacks, and New Approaches,’ summarizes pivotal developments in international forest governance.

In his opening remarks, IUFRO President John Parrotta, US Forest Service, “expressed hope that the report would inform evidence-based decision making at UNFF19 and beyond.”

Christoph Wildburger, IUFRO Science-Policy Programme, noted that the 2010 report had characterized the international forest governance landscape as “complex and fragmented.” The number of actors, initiatives, arrangements, and institutions has “increased considerably” since then. He said the new report analyzes trends and challenges since 2010, along with potential approaches for improving forest governance in the future.

One of the report’s authors, Daniela Kleinschmit, University of Freiburg, Germany, said “‘international forest governance’ refers to the formal and informal sets of rules and relationships that define and regulate state and non-state actors in international forest affairs.” She highlighted the report’s “people-centered” approach to improving international forest governance that seeks to make it more inclusive by connecting and coordinating existing instruments. 

The report’s co-author Constance McDermott, University of Oxford, UK, highlighted “ever-expanding” quantitative targets to reduce deforestation, the increasing “climatization” of forests, and their growing “financialization” among the key trends identified in the report. She stressed that market-based approaches can reinforce inequalities and called for more emphasis on “ground-up and inclusive strategies” in international forest governance.

Next, stakeholders involved in forest governance shared their insights on the report from the perspective of policymaking. In the question-and-answer session that followed, participants focused on topics such as: harmonizing the regulatory landscape for forests at both national and subnational levels; the extent to which the fate of forests depends on forest-specific governance as opposed to forces outside the forest sector; the underlying causes of deforestation; and the distinctions between forestry governance, forest governance, and forests in general. [ENB Coverage of IUFRO Side Event at UNFF19: Presentation of Report by IUFRO’s Science-Policy Programme on International Forest Governance]