Belém, Brazil - Forests are at the heart of COP30 discussions in the Brazilian Amazon city of Belém. But less is said about how forests provide a vital support system for agriculture. Promoting synergies between the two is therefore essential for sustainable agrifood system transformation in the face of climate change, according to a report released today at the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil.
Published jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Stockholm Environment Institute, Conservation International, and the Nature Conservancy, Climate and ecosystem service benefits of forests and trees for agriculture underscores how the often-overlooked services provided by forests and trees can strengthen agrifood systems. The report calls for policies, investment and better management to turn this evidence into action.
The report draws on extensive research from around the world to demonstrate how forests moderate temperatures, sustain rainfall and regulate the water cycle, directly supporting crop productivity, stabilizing local climates and improving the health, safety and livelihoods of rural communities, while highlighting the consequences of deforestation on the world's agrifood systems.
"Forests and trees are often seen as competing with farming for land, or being peripheral to agriculture, but conserving and restoring forests is in fact crucial to boosting agricultural productivity," said FAO Forestry Director Zhimin Wu.
Clear upsides of forest conservation
The report underlines that forest loss has immediate and measurable effects on climate and agriculture.
In Brazil, for example, converting tropical forests to farmland has been shown to reduce evapotranspiration - the transfer of water from land to the atmosphere - by up to 30 percent, driving up local temperatures and disrupting rainfall patterns.
A recent study shows that agriculture in 155 countries relies on transboundary forests that traverse national borders for as much as 40 percent of annual rainfall. The report underscores that protecting forests is not just a local issue but a strategic global priority for stable food production.
The publication also emphasizes that forests safeguard human health in a warming world. Clearing forests causes land surface temperatures to rise, often by several degrees across tropical regions, creating hotter microclimates where people live and work.
Temperature increase from tropical deforestation is estimated to have contributed to about 28,000 heat-related deaths annually between 2001 and 2020, according to a recent study cited in the report. In addition, rising temperatures in deforested areas between 2003 and 2018 have reduced safe working hours for as many as 2.8 million outdoor workers.
Conversely, the cooling benefits of standing forests reduce heat stress for crops and rural communities, safeguarding the health and boosting the productivity of rural workers by mitigating heat-related health risks.
Integrated approaches essential
The report underlines that restoring just half of the world's lost tropical forests could lower land surface temperatures by a full degree Celsius, helping to reinstate water cycles and climate regulation functions of forests and trees - vital for farming and water security.
It stresses the need for integrated approaches to strengthen climate resilience and food security, underscoring that forests and trees provide a range of other vital services such as pollination, biological pest control, nutrient cycling and erosion control, all of which help to enhance crop yields and sustain ecosystem health.
Incorporating forests and trees into agricultural systems as shelterbelts, riparian buffers and forest patches can enhance resilience to climate variability and support agriculture production and resilience, the report explains. These are part of agrifood system solutions to climate adaptation and mitigation highlighted by FAO at the climate conference.
Finally, the report highlights the need to break down silos between sustainable use of biodiversity, environment protection, agriculture, water resource management and public health, and calls for strategies and policies that recognize the close link between forests and agriculture to ensure the prosperity of farming communities and the health of the ecosystems they depend upon.
