Nairobi, 14 October 2025 Two reports published today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) find that the tropical forests most at risk from loss are also the most vital to people. Annual investment in forests will need to triple by 2030, grow sixfold by 2050, and shift towards protecting high-risk forests.
Forests are not just carbon stores or wildlife habitats they are the infrastructure of our global food, water, and economic systems, said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. Failing to invest in tropical forest protection undermines their true value, especially in countries that are navigating extraordinarily complex trade-offs between development and conservation every day.
High-risk forests, high-value returns
The report, High-risk forests, high-value returns: A co-benefits assessment for decision-makers, quantifies the wide-ranging benefits of protecting 391 million hectares of high-risk tropical forests. It finds that these forests, covering roughly the size of European Union, deliver outsized returns for society:
- Water regulation: Preventing 2.3 million tonnes of nitrogen pollutants and 527 million tonnes of sediment out of rivers every year, protecting drinking water, safeguarding reservoirs and hydropower, and sustaining irrigation systems. By recycling 1014 percent of regional rainfall, these forests also help maintain rainfall patterns and river flows, ensuring reliable water supplies.
- Food security: Supporting the nutritional needs of 10 million people annually by sustaining crop pollinators such as bees, birds, and seed-spreaders.
- Energy and livelihoods: Providing products that 25 million low-income people depend on for cooking, heating, and supplemental income.
- Disaster resilience: Acting as natural buffers against extreme weather, these forests prevent some US$81 billion in disaster-related losses annually.
The report also emphasizes the need to balance conservation efforts with equitable development, recognizing socio-economic impacts on local communities, while urging governments and investors to direct finance toward the most threatened forests.
The State of Finance for Forests
Another new UNEP report, 2025 State of Finance for Forests: Unlock. Unleash. Realizing forest potential requires tripling investment in forests by 2030, identifies for the first time the scale of the financial gap hindering sustainable forest management, despite commitments made under international agreements like the Rio Conventions, the Paris Agreement, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Key findings of The State of Finance for Forests report include:
Current annual funding (2023): US$ 84 billion total
- US$ 75 billion from domestic public sources (88 per cent)
- US$ 3 billion from international public sources (3 per cent)
- US$ 7.5 billion from private finance (9 per cent)
Required annual funding from public and private sources:
- US$ 300 billion by 2030
- US$ 498 billion by 2050
The report finds an annual forest finance gap of US$ 216 billion between current financial flows and the investment required to achieve global forest goals by 2030. It warns that existing capital directed to forest conservation, restoration and sustainable use is not only insufficient but also misdirected.
Furthermore, perverse incentives dwarf positive investments: potentially environmentally harmful subsidies in agriculture exceed US$ 400 billion annually, contributing to the loss of 2.2 million hectares of forest every year, an area more than 30 times the size of Nairobi, host city of the UNEP headquarters.
The report stresses that reconciling economic development with forest protection will require redirecting capital away from deforestation-related activities and realigning fiscal and policy incentives with food security and sustainability goals.
Meanwhile, although hundreds of corporations pledged zero deforestation by 2030, investments in sustainable supply chains remain minimal.
The report outlines potential sources to fill the finance gap. It also recommends prioritizing funding for forest protection as a highly cost-effective approach. Compared to forest restoration or other forest-positive activities, forest protection requires just US$ 32 billion of the additional annual finance needed by 2030, while accounting for 80 per cent of the total land area required.
UNEP is committed to integrating forest action into national plans, including climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, incentivizing forest stewardship by local communities, and working with governments, business, and financial institutions to close the forest investment gap and redirect capital away from deforestation-related activities.
