2014 New York Declaration of Forests

Subject – Environment

Context – World leaders pledge to save forests at COP 26

Concept –

Leaders at the COP26 global climate conference in Glasgow have pledged to stop deforestation by the end of the decade and slash emissions of the greenhouse gas, methane, to help slow climate change.
In 2020, the world lost 2,58,000 sq. km of forests according to the Global Forest Watch.
The conservation charity WWF estimates that 27 football fields of forest are lost every minute.
Over 100 national leaders pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, underpinned by $19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests.
The agreement expands a commitment by 40 countries as part of the 2014 New York Declaration of Forests.
Under the agreement, 12 countries pledged to provide $12 billion of public funding between 2021 and 2025 for developing countries to restore degraded land and tackle wildfires.

About 2014 New York Declaration of Forests

The New York Declaration on Forests is a voluntary and non-legally binding political declaration which grew out of dialogue among governments, companies and civil society, spurred by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit held in New York in 2014.
The Declaration pledges to halve the rate of deforestation by 2020, to end it by 2030, and to restore hundreds of millions of acres of degraded land.
The proposed land restoration is described as covering “an area larger than India”.
It has presently over 200 endorsers – including national governments, subnational governments, companies, indigenous groups, financial institutions and NGOs. These endorsers have committed to doing their part to achieve the NYDF goals and follow its accompanying action agenda.
Presently, India has not signed the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF).