The Global Forest Goals (GFG) Report 2026 was released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) Secretariat.
The report assessed progress towards 6 Global Forest Goals set for 2030 under the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests (2017–2030).
Global forest area declined by more than 40 million hectares between 2015 and 2025 due to agricultural expansion and rising demand for fuelwood and charcoal.
The report identified weak governance, illegal trade, insecure land tenure and limited institutional capacity as major barriers to sustainable forest management.
Forest degradation increased because of climate-related pressures such as droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, pests and diseases.
The report stated that forest finance reached a record US$84 billion in 2023, but it remains far below the estimated annual requirement of US$300 billion by 2030.