Mixed progress for world’s rainforests in 2025 as deforestation slows but new threats emerge

The world’s tropical forests experienced a complex year in 2025, marked by encouraging reductions in deforestation rates alongside the emergence of less visible but equally concerning threats. While several regions saw significant slowdowns in forest clearing, other areas continued to lose precious woodland through fires, gradual degradation, and political decisions that prioritized development over conservation.

The year highlighted a troubling disconnect between government promises and ground-level reality. Political leaders worldwide maintained their commitments to forest protection while simultaneously advancing infrastructure, mining, and energy projects deep into forest territories. This contradiction underscored that 2025’s forest story was defined not by any single dramatic policy shift, but by the mounting pressure of multiple interconnected challenges.

What made 2025 particularly significant was the growing influence of indirect threats on forest health. Climate-driven factors like extreme heat, prolonged droughts, and cascading effects from previous environmental damage increasingly determined forest outcomes, even in areas where new clearing had slowed. These climate stressors worked alongside evolving economic pressures, as commodity markets began rewarding long-term stability over short-term price fluctuations.

International climate diplomacy continued through COP30, which managed to avoid complete breakdown while postponing the most difficult decisions about binding forest protection measures. Market-based conservation tools—including carbon credit systems, trade regulations, and conservation financing—showed mixed results, their effectiveness depending as much on political will and institutional capacity as on technical design. The year ultimately demonstrated that protecting tropical forests now requires addressing interconnected systems of finance, enforcement, climate adaptation, and conflict resolution rather than relying on single-issue policies.