There are many ways to halt and reverse deforestation. We need a global space for countries to share collaboration that works.

By Steve Leonard and Eliza J. Villarino

Halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030 is one of the world’s most urgent and measurable environmental goals. Forests are central to climate stability, biodiversity conservation, and food security. Yet despite more than a decade of global commitments, the world remains far off track.

The promise and the gap

Since the 2010 Cancun Agreements, governments have repeatedly pledged to end forest loss. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 15.2), the New York Declaration on Forests (2014), and the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration (2021) all commit to protecting and restoring forests while promoting sustainable development. The 2023 Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement reaffirmed this ambition, urging countries to enhance efforts to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

But the reality tells another story. In 2023, global deforestation reached 6.37 million hectares — 45% off the trajectory needed to meet the 2030 target. Tropical forest degradation is worsening, and vast areas of forest continue to lose ecological integrity. Agriculture, mining, and infrastructure expansion remain the primary drivers, compounded by weak governance and insufficient financing for Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IP&LCs) who steward most of the planet’s remaining natural forests.

The latest Forest Declaration Assessment warns that rising demand for minerals used in clean energy technologies, alongside continued fossil fuel extraction and agricultural expansion, is intensifying pressure on forest landscapes. Even as private sector pledges multiply, most companies and financial institutions still lack concrete deforestation-free policies or mechanisms to address human rights concerns across supply chains.

Why non-market approaches (NMAs) matter

Under Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement, NMAs are defined as voluntary, cooperative actions that enhance mitigation and adaptation, strengthen participation, and promote sustainable.

In simple terms, NMAs deal with the “enabling environment”: rights, governance, institutions, and incentives that shape how forests are managed. They focus on reforming the rules, relationships, and power structures that drive forest loss.

Tackling the root causes

Experience shows that the most effective forest policies are those that tackle the underlying drivers of deforestation — insecure land tenure, weak governance, and harmful subsidies. These are precisely the issues that NMAs are designed to address.

Without clear land rights, forest communities remain vulnerable to land grabs and encroachment. Without strong governance, corruption and illegal logging flourish. And without reforming “perverse incentives” — subsidies that reward destructive practices — even the best-intentioned conservation projects struggle to last.

Securing rights and strengthening governance

Recognizing and protecting the land and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities is one of the most powerful NMAs available. Where these rights are secured, deforestation rates drop, biodiversity thrives, and conflicts decline.

Although Indigenous Peoples represent just 5% of the global population, their territories cover 37% of remaining natural lands and hold 22% of the carbon stored in tropical and subtropical forests. Yet a third of that carbon lies in areas lacking legal recognition. Strengthening collective tenure rights is not just a matter of justice — it is one of the most cost-effective ways to conserve ecosystems, reduce emissions, and achieve climate and biodiversity goals.

Rights-based NMAs also enhance the permanence of forest protection. Unlike carbon finance schemes that depend on fluctuating markets, communities with secure tenure protect their forests as part of their livelihoods and cultural identity. Their governance systems provide long-term stability, resilience, and social legitimacy that financial incentives alone cannot match.

Reforming incentives that drive deforestation

Another cornerstone of NMAs is reforming harmful subsidies that encourage deforestation — for example, those promoting unsustainable agriculture, logging, or fossil fuels. The Convention on Biological Diversity has recognized that eliminating such incentives is a precondition for success in any forest or biodiversity policy.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for identifying and reforming these subsidies by 2025 and reducing them by at least US$500 billion per year by 2030, while scaling up positive incentives for conservation.

The scale of the challenge is immense. In 2023, explicit public subsidies to sectors linked to deforestation ranged from US$1.4 trillion to US$3.3 trillion. Agriculture and fossil fuels received the largest share, followed by infrastructure, forestry, and fisheries. Redirecting even a fraction of this toward sustainable land use could transform global efforts to halt deforestation.

A foundation for systemic change

NMAs provide the scaffolding for lasting forest protection. They create the governance, policy, and social conditions that make market-based tools effective. Without them, financial mechanisms risk failure through leakage, corruption, or inequity. With them, conservation becomes more inclusive, equitable, and enduring.

The UNFCCC’s Article 6.8 Non-Market Approaches Platform now provides a global space for countries and stakeholders to share experiences, align policies, and scale up cooperative actions. Through this platform, countries can register NMAs that integrate governance reform, rights recognition, sustainable livelihoods, and capacity building as part of their climate strategies and nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

Toward 2030 and beyond

The path to halting and reversing deforestation will not be achieved by financial incentives alone. It requires a holistic shift — one that empowers communities, reforms governance, and dismantles the incentives that make forest destruction profitable.

By placing non-market approaches at the heart of climate and biodiversity strategies, governments and partners can create the conditions for real, lasting change. When rights are secure, governance is strong, and incentives align with sustainability, forests — and the people who depend on them — can thrive.

Eliza J. Villarino will present at the next in-session workshop of the Glasgow Committee on Non-Market Approaches at COP30 on Tuesday 11 November 2025, 10:00 – 13:00, her third presentation at the Committee in a span of two years.