Forests provide ecosystem services that are vital to human well-being and sustainable development. They regulate water, nutrients and the planet’s carbon cycles, and support around 80% of all species living on
land. More than 1.6 billion people directly depend on forests and related ecosystem services for their livelihood. Forests also act as the stabilizing force for the global climate by absorbing and storing carbon. However, despite their importance, forests continue to be exploited and destroyed at high rates. The 2020 Forest Resources Assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
estimates that we lose an average of 10 million hectares an area comparable to the size of Iceland – of natural
forests every year. Forest loss and degradation are driven mainly by commercial agriculture, mining and extractives, infrastructure and illegal logging.
