Forests

Forests are globally important in regulating climate and locally important in sustaining communities and supporting biodiversity. But they, and the people who depend on them, are under increasing pressure.

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Among the world’s greatest assets

 

for the climate

40 %

of the world’s oxygen is produced by rainforests

for biodiversity

80 %

of terrestrial biodiversity is in forests

for communities

1.6

billion people depend on forests

How we engage

IUCN works to build sustainable landscapes, protect primary forests and advance the rights of forest communities. Through its forest initiatives, IUCN helps countries implement effective forest and land-use policies, achieve national priorities and meet international commitments on climate change, biodiversity and land degradation.

News

  • people sitting against concrete wall, dirt floor Photo: IUCN / Grace Baruka

    Governance grows in Mangai

    04.10.2018

    Establishing the Governance Working Group in the Mangai landscape in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a crucial step in managing forests landscapes

  • words on left -plant growing on tree on right Photo: IUCN / Craig Beatty

    Challenges remain for halving natural forest loss by 2020, but restoration of forest landscapes brings hope

    28.09.2018

    According to the 2018 Progress Assessment of the New York Declaration on Forests, the world is not on track to meet global goals to halve natural forest loss globally by 2020 at the current pace. We take a look into this assessment with a focus on the...

  • forests at bottom, horizon with blue sky and white clouds at top Photo: J. Spiric

    Finding balance: perceptions of REDD+ in Mexico

    24.09.2018

    A look at the procedural legitimacy of the governance structures for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Mexico. A blog by Dr. Jovanka Špirić, postdoctoral researcher at the Environmental Geography Research Centre (CIGA) of...

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