Search Results
Rural well-being
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data for this indicator are sourced from the World Bank Group’s DataBank under the Millennium Development Goals database.
- To access the data, visit the DataBank website, navigate to the Millennium Development Goals section, and use the “Variables” tab to select relevant parameters. These include the “Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population)” under the “series” option and choosing all countries along with the desired years under the “country” and “time” sections, respectively.
- The data is presented as a percentage, which indicates the proportion of the rural population living below national poverty lines, allowing for an analysis of poverty trends over selected years.Data is only available for 1990-2015, and not for all countries.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Reducing rural poverty is particularly important in the context of climate change because people living in poverty or economically precarious situations are most likely to be negatively impacted by climate change and are least likely to be able to recover from shocks. Additionally, building resilience and adapting to climate change can be expensive or inaccessible to those living in poverty, furthering their vulnerability to climate change. For example, climate-smart, resilient agriculture can require significant up-front investments, expensive inputs, and higher implementation costs – additional expenses that many farmers, particularly smallholder farmers, cannot afford without additional income or financial support. The inability to adapt their agricultural practices then exposes farmers to greater risks from climate change-related shocks.
While rates of rural poverty have decreased in recent years, extreme poverty still poses a major challenge in rural areas. In 2022, over three-quarters of the world’s extreme poor resided in rural areas, with half of them residing in rural Sub-Saharan Africa alone.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Unfortunately, since the development of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity has been moving in the wrong direction. As of 2024, 2.3 billion people (28% of the global population) were moderately or severely food insecure. While this represents a slight decrease compared to 2023, the number of people is still 335 million above the 2019 level before the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to an increase in food insecurity.
Definitions
- NATIONAL PLANNING INSTRUMENT FOR ADAPTATION: As defined by UNEP in its Adaptation Gap Report 2024, national policies, strategies, and plans that are designed to guide and/or drive a country’s national adaptation process collectively fall under the category of national planning instruments for adaptation. To be included in UNEP’s analysis, such planning instruments must be cross-cutting and time-bound.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data was taken directly from the UNEP Adaptation Gap Report. The latest report available (as of September 2025) is the 2024 report, which was published in November 2024. The 2024 Adaptation Gap Report is available here.
- The report only counts planning instruments that were published before August 5, 2024.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Building climate resilience is crucial for enhancing livelihoods as well as reducing poverty and addressing other inequalities that climate change will otherwise intensify. Well-chosen adaptation actions can also help to avoid future climate-related losses and even provide strong economic returns. To build climate resilience equitably and effectively, countries must develop plans, strategies, laws, and policies to guide their adaptation actions and access the finance required to implement them.
As of November 2024, 171 countries – or 87% – had at least one national planning instrument for adaptation in place. Of the 26 countries without an adaptation planning instrument in place, 16 are in the process of developing one. These adaptation planning instruments include national adaptation plans, adaptation communications, national climate change laws and policies, and national communications.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- The data was taken directly from the Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2025 Report, from the Climate Policy Initiative.
- Data can be found in figure 15. Figures are reported in 2023 USD which may explain slight changes in the data over time.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Accelerating global action on climate adaptation is critical to reducing vulnerability and building resilience, but significantly larger financial resources are urgently required. In addition to various environmental and social gains, adaptation can generate substantial economic returns. Depending on the sector, investments in adaptation and improved resilience can produce rates of return ranging from 2:1 to 10:1 or even higher in certain scenarios.
While finance for climate adaptation rose from most public and private actors from 2022 to 2023, a funding decrease from the China Development Bank—previously a prolific adaptation funder—brought down overall flows from USD 77 billion in 2022 to USD 65 billion in 2023. In general, these funds pale in comparison to estimated needs. Developing countries alone, for example, will require anywhere from USD 215 billion to USD 387 billion per year this decade to adapt. To meet adaptation needs, finance flows must quadruple by 2030. While both public and private finance for adaptation must increase dramatically, particular focus on mobilizing private investments is warranted as the vast majority of tracked adaptation finance flows from public actors – 98% in 2021 to 2022.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- No publicly available data was identified.
Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts and urgently need resources with which to plan and implement adaptation measures. Improving direct access to finance provides Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities with decision-making power and authority over how adaptation funds are spent, increasing the odds that they will benefit and that adaptation actions will be more equitable and effective. Yet only a small fraction of adaptation funds reaches them, and worse still, they rarely have much authority with adaptation decision-making processes.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that less than 17% of the USD 95 billion allocated in climate adaptation finance from 2017-2021 was channeled to projects with a focus on local communities. Nonetheless, the amount of climate adaptation finance reaching local communities remains largely untracked despite the increasing recognition of the importance of ensuring climate finance meets the needs of those most at risk.
Community empowerment
Definitions
- CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs): are a wide range of non governmental organizations consisting of volunteers, advocacy groups and general citizens that seek to represent the interest of the community.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Ordinal scale country-year data from the V-Dem Dataset (version 15) was used to calculate the share of countries. The specific data column used was “v2cscnsult_ord.”
- To calculate the share of countries where policymakers routinely consult major civil society organizations on issues relevant to the organization’s members, we only count countries that score 2 (“Yes. Important CSOs are recognized as stakeholders in important policy areas and given voice on such issues. This can be accomplished through formal corporatist arrangements or through less formal arrangements.”). After counting how many countries meet the threshold, we divide this number by the total number of countries that have data for that year to get the %.
- This indicator measures the number of countries that responded “yes” to whether policymakers consult civil society but does not count the countries that responded “sometimes.” Therefore, the score does not indicate that any countries not counted never consult civil society, but rather country experts consider their consultation of civil society either inconsistent or insufficient.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
V-Dem [Country-Year/Country-Date] Dataset v15
Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project
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While public participation in decision and policy making, a key element of empowering communities, is difficult to measure directly given the subjective nature of what makes participation effective or meaningful, government consultation with civil society organizations is one mechanism for public participation in decision-making that can be measured. This indicator, based on the 2025 Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset, presents data on whether policymakers consistently consult with civil society organizations.
The 2025 Democracy Report flagged that, from 2014 to 2024, governments in 28 countries increased their control over the existence of civil society organizations. Over that same time period, governments in 41 countries increased their repression of civil society organizations. Concerningly, the percentage of countries where policymakers consistently consult with civil society organizations has dropped over the past years, from 29% in 2012 to 20% in 2024.
Definitions
- CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs): are a wide range of non governmental organizations consisting of volunteers, advocacy groups and general citizens that seek to represent the interest of the community.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Ordinal scale country-year data from V-Dem Dataset (version 15) was used to calculate the share of countries. The specific data column used was “v2csprtcpt_ord.”
- A threshold of 2 was used to filter countries in which there are many diverse CSOs, but popular involvement is minimal or it is considered normal for people to be at least occasionally active in at least one of them. After counting how many countries meet the threshold, we divide this number by the total number of countries that have data for that year to get the %.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
V-Dem [Country-Year/Country-Date] Dataset v15
Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project
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Having a range of diverse and active civil society organizations allows individuals to seek out and join organizations through which they can advocate for change. This global indicator from Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) assesses whether there is a diverse array of civil society organizations (not primarily state-sponsored) that members of the public can voluntary participate in. However, the presence of civil society does not mean that everyone participates, nor does it indicate how effective or influential these organizations are in policymaking.
In 2024, 83% of countries met the threshold of having many diverse civil society organizations. This figure has largely remained steady since 2002.
Definitions
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs): are a wide range of non governmental organizations consisting of volunteers, advocacy groups and general citizens that seek to represent the interest of the community.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Ordinal scale country-year data from the V-Dem Dataset (version 15) was used to calculate the share of countries.
- A threshold of 4 was used to filter countries in which women are almost never prevented from participating in civil society organizations.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
V-Dem [Country-Year/Country-Date] Dataset v15
Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project
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All members of society should have full access to civic life. This indicator tracks the ability of women to participate in civic life. It is based on a global indicator from Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) that assesses the degree to which women are prevented from participating in civil society organizations due to their gender and whether civil society organizations working on women’s issues are prevented from taking part in the civic discourse.
According to the V-Dem dataset, as of 2024, 75% of countries almost never prevent women from participating in civil society organizations due to their gender and almost never prevent civil society organizations advocating for women’s interests to take part in associational life. While this figure steadily increased from 2000 to 2011, it has largely stagnated at between 74 to 78% since 2012.
Historical data and current trend methodology
Data taken from RRI’s 2025 assessment of the status of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women’s forest tenure rights across 35 key forest countries in the Global South. This report is a follow-up to RRI’s 2017 report. Indicators are taken directly from the 2025 report.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Resilience and Resistance. Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and Local Community Women’s Statutory Rights to Community Forests
Rights and Resources Initiative
Visit this SourceWomen – especially those from Indigenous and local communities – are key to defending forests. They often possess specialized ecological knowledge that is necessary for adaptative and sustainable forest management, including the use and management of forest resources for their households. Women’s leadership in environmental governance is also linked to reduced conflict and increased climate resilience. This indicator tracks inclusion of legal protections for women’s community-level voting rights as well for community-level leadership (through the establishment of quorum requirements).
According to an analysis from Rights and Resources Initiative, of the 104 legal frameworks that constitute community-based tenure regimes across 35 countries, explicit protections for women’s rights remain limited. Of these 104 legal frameworks, as of 2024 only 2% have adequate protection for women’s community-level voting rights and only 5% have adequate protections for women’s community-level leadership through the establishment of quorum requirements.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data is derived from the Global Witness In Numbers database for data through 2021, its 2023 report Standing Firm for 2022 data, its 2024 report Missing Voices for 2023 data, and its 2025 report Roots of Resistance for 2024 data.
- The 2024 report combines killings and disappearances into one overall statistic.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Standing firm: The Land and Environmental Defenders on the frontlines of the climate crisis
Global Witness
Visit this SourceMissing voices. The violent erasure of land and environmental defenders
Global Witness
Visit this SourceRoots of resistance: Documenting the global struggles of defenders protecting land and environmental rights
Global Witness
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In the last decade, Indigenous Peoples and local communities have raised substantial awareness at the international level of the critical role they play in safeguarding the world’s forests and other ecosystems. At the same time, environmental defenders face high rates of criminalization, physical violence, and assassinations. Indigenous Peoples and local communities are among the groups most likely to mobilize for environmental protection and face even higher rates of criminalization, violence, and assassinations than other groups. In a systematic mapping of climate-related resistance movements, violence was most common over projects related to hydropower, biomass, pipelines, and coal extraction.
At least 146 land and environmental defenders were killed or disappeared in 2024, according to Global Witness, which ranks the mining, extractives, fishing, and logging sectors as the deadliest for defenders. This figure, while lower than previous years, is likely an underestimate since many attacks go unreported. Some killings are facilitated by governments through systematic and deliberate suppression of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and grassroots environmentalists. Governments justify their actions through legal mechanisms such as penal laws and anti-terrorist legislation.
Sustainable agriculture
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data is not yet available to support measurement of this indicator.
Extension services play a vital role in equipping farmers with the necessary knowledge and technical support to develop profitable, sustainable agricultural practices, including those that increase productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A metric for assessing the effectiveness of these services is the proportion of farmers who benefit from continuous and reliable access to them.
While there is not a consistent source of data on access to extension services, a 2020 IFPRI report found that, since the 1990s, the number of global extension agents has increased, and they are from a wider variety of public and private organizations; although, the availability of these services can vary significantly from one country or region to another. The report also found that there has been a decrease in government funding for extension services, many extension agents and services lack the capacities and resources to fully meet farmers’ needs. Reaching women and youth remains an ongoing challenge. Additionally, as public extension services have a more diverse array of participating organizations and funding sources, there is a growing need for coordination, monitoring, and capacity building.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data was collected from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) through their Statistics – SDG indicator database.
- On the portal, select “Data Series 9.1.1” and apply filters for “Countries, areas, or regions: All Groupings” and “Period: Years.” Proceed by clicking on “show results.” At the bottom of the page, the data set titled “SP_ROD_R2KM Indicator 9.1.1, Series: Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road” can be found and used for analysis.
- The units are provided as a percentage which directly indicates the proportion of the rural population living within the specified distance from an all-season road.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Access to markets can play a positive role in poverty reduction and economic growth promotion, and this is necessary for the development of profitable, sustainable agriculture. The proportion of the global rural population residing within a two-kilometer radius of an all-weather road is a commonly employed indicator for gauging market accessibility. Although, the impact of road access on market participation depends on various factors, including the road network’s design, the presence of complementary infrastructure, and local economic conditions.
An estimated one billion individuals still reside more than two kilometers away from such vital road infrastructure, according to the Global Road Safety Facility. Enhancing accessibility to rural roads can alleviate poverty through increased agricultural output, local market expansion driven by improved transport, and increased wages and employment opportunities.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- The data is sourced from the “Tracking SDG 7” platform managed by ESMAP.
- To obtain the data, access the website, navigate to the Datasets section, and download the SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset. This dataset is focused on providing insights into electricity access across different regions.
- Share of the global rural population without access to electricity is derived by subtracting the percentage of the total population with electricity access from 1.
- To determine the share of the rural population without electricity access, the dataset is first filtered to display only rural data for countries.
- The next step involves reversing the reported percentage of the population with electricity access to reflect those without it by subtracting the percentage from 100.
- All values are then formatted to show as whole numbers without decimal points, offering a clear view of the percentage of rural populations lacking electricity access.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Access to electricity is essential for various agricultural tasks from irrigation to crop processing. This factor is a key ingredient for building resilience, enhancing rural livelihoods, and supporting the development of profitable, sustainable agriculture. Empirical investigations have indicated that the expansion of electricity availability contributes to an increase in the time allocated to income-generating activities.
Access to electricity varies among regions, countries, and communities, as well as between urban and rural areas. Global rural access to electricity has steadily increased over the last twenty years. While a third of the global rural population had no access to electricity in 2000, this share has since fallen to 16% in 2023, meaning that 84% of the global rural population now has electricity access. However, regional disparities remain – in 2023, Sub-Saharan African had the lowest regional rural access to electricity at 33.2%, followed by Latin American and the Caribbean at 92.9%.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data were pulled from the SDG Indicator database on the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs webpage by filtering for data series 1.4.2) for all groupings and years.
- The dataset “Proportion of people with legally recognized documentation of their rights to land out of total adult population, by sex (%) SP_LGL_LNDDOC” is presented. National data are presented as aggregates for both sexes.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Lack of secure land tenure is pervasive worldwide and is a commonly identified barrier to shifting to profitable, sustainable agriculture and restoring forest and land ecosystems. Documentation of rights contributes to tenure security and can create incentives for farmers to make longer-term investments in their croplands. Rights that are secure and of a set duration can also be the foundation for investing in restoration efforts where the benefits accrue over time.
Yet, in countries where deforestation and forest conversion for commodity agriculture are a pervasive problem, many adults still lack legal documentation of their rights to land. For example, in Indonesia, only 27% of adults had such documentation as of 2017. In Côte d’Ivoire, this share was only 16% as of 2021, although this represents a 5% improvement as compared to 2018.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data was collected from Prindex, which includes country-level data on the percentage of people who believe it is somewhat or very likely that they could lose the right to use their property or part of it against their will in the next 5 years.
- The tenure insecurity percentage data was downloaded by clicking on “Download data table” under the chart “Different factors affect tenure insecurity” on the Prindex Explore Our Data webpage.
- Country codes listed in the data file are based on country ISO codes as described in the ISO 3166 international standard.
- The Prindex data was updated in 2024.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Secure land rights play an essential role in enabling the restoration of ecosystems; defending lands that are under threat; supporting the development of profitable, sustainable agriculture; and reducing vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. In addition to formal documentation of land rights, communities and individuals need assurances that their land rights are secure and that they will accrue the benefits of, for example, improving cropland and pasture productivity, reestablishing trees, rewetting peatlands, or restoring mangroves. Without believing that they have long–term rights to land, they may have little incentive to devote their time, labor, and resources to such projects, particularly those that generate benefits over longer periods.
As of 2024, approximately 1.1 billion adults across 108 countries surveyed (23% of all adults in those countries) believe they could lose part of their land or their right to use it within five years. This represents a 4% increase in tenure insecurity from 2020; much of this increase comes from countries in East Asia and the Pacific.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
The global status and trends of Payments for Ecosystem Services
James Salzman, Genevieve Bennett, Nathaniel Carroll, Allie Goldstein & Michael Jenkins
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Forests and other land ecosystems are under continuous and increasing economic pressures, such as the expansion of agriculture and other extractive activities like mining and logging. Protecting ecosystems from these pressures will require policies that discourage conversion, such as payments for ecosystem services, which increase the financial attractiveness of standing forests and have been successful in many contexts at reducing deforestation.
In 2018, the total global value of payments for ecosystem services was estimated at USD 36 billion in annual transactions.
Indigenous and community rights
Definitions
- OWNED: RRI classifies land as “owned by Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities” when national law recognizes communities’ rights of access, withdrawal, management, exclusion, and due process and compensation for an unlimited duration.
- DESIGNATED: RRI classifies land as “designated for Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities” when national law recognizes communities’ rights of access, withdrawal, and at least either management or exclusion, but does not recognize the full bundle of rights required for ownership.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data and underlying methodology elaborated within the 2023 Forest Declaration Assessment based on data from Rights and Resources Initiative (2023).
- Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ tenure security offers one highly effective, relatively low-cost strategy to protect the world’s remaining intact forests, at least 36% of which stretch across these communities’ territories. Several studies find that, in the tropics, deforestation across Indigenous lands is significantly lower than in nearby forests, and in some cases, comparable to or less than losses within strictly protected areas.
Yet, an analysis of legal frameworks in 73 countries covering 85% of Earth’s land finds that, despite holding and using at least half of the world’s land, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities legally owned just 11% of global land as of 2020. Their more limited designation rights were recognized over 7% of global land. While the total area of land legally designated for and owned by these groups increased by just over 100 million hectares (Mha) from 2015 to 2020, at least 1,375 Mha of community lands – an area roughly the size of Antarctica – has not yet been recognized under national laws and regulations.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data is not yet available to support measurement of this indicator.
Recognizing and honoring the rights of Indigenous Peoples is essential to reduce vulnerability, build resilience, and enhance rural livelihoods. Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) is an expression of the fundamental right of Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination. It allows them to give, withhold, or withdraw their consent for a project that may impact them or their territories. Additionally, that consent should arrive without intimidation or coercion through processes defined by the affected Indigenous Peoples. FPIC is a well-established principle in international law, articulated in the International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). However, Indigenous leaders have been critical of the lack of implementation and enforcement of FPIC. A first step for many countries would be to ensure that there are legal mechanisms to enable enforcement. Currently, we are unable to identify a global data source assessing FPIC implementation.
Definitions
FPIC: According to the 2023 Company Assessment Methodology, “Use of the term FPIC in reference to indigenous people and/or local communities is required to score points under this indicator.”
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Forest 500 assesses companies with high levels of exposure to deforestation risk. Prior to 2024, Forest 500 assessed 350 companies. Starting with their 2024 assessment, Forest 500 assesses 500 companies.
- Data was collected from the Forest 500 Ranking Dashboard (2018-2022). The full data sets for 2023 and 2024 were downloaded from the Forest 500 Methods webpage. Consult the latest version of the methodology to determine which indicators to use. Different indicators were used for each year:
- For the 2024 data, indicator 4.04 was used: Does the company commit to conduct, conclude, and secure the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of potentially affected Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs) prior to acquiring new interests in land or resources, and new developments or expansions? The total possible score for this indicator in the 2024 assessment was 1.75 points.
- For the 2023 data, indicator 4.5 was used: Does the company commit to test for the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of potentially affected indigenous peoples and/or local communities prior to acquiring new interests in land or resources and prior to new developments or expansions? The total possible score for this indicator in the 2023 assessment was 2 points.
- For 2022, indicator 2.7 was used: Does the company commit to test for the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of potentially affected Indigenous Peoples and/or local communities prior to acquiring new interests in land or resources and prior to new developments or expansions? Data was collected only from companies that scored a full 3 points, indicating their commitment to: conducting FPIC tests, and refraining from carrying out such operations without received consent from the Indigenous Peoples and local communities involved.
- For 2020 and 2021, indicator 2.8 was used: Does the company commit to securing the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of potentially affected Indigenous Peoples and/or local communities prior to acquiring new interests in land or resources and prior to new developments or expansions? Data was collected only from companies that scored a full 4 points, indicating their commitment to securing FPIC prior to acquiring new interests, developments, or expansions.
- For 2018 and 2019, indicator 5.1 was used: Data was collected only from companies that scored a full 4 points, indicating their commitment to ensuring the principles of FPIC are applied for all new developments.
- We sorted the data on companies to view only the scores for the relevant indicator for each company. In 2024, companies received scores in 9 commodity groups: palm oil, soy, beef, leather, timber, pulp and paper, cocoa, coffee, and rubber. First, we took the average (arithmetic mean) of the scores for each commodity for each company and divided the average score for each financial institution by the total possible points for the indicator (in 2024, the total possible points for indicator 4.04 was 1.75 points). Next, we multiplied the fraction of total possible points by 100 to get a % score for each company. Then, we took the average (arithmetic mean) of all the percentage scores to get an average percent for all companies assessed. We also took a count of all companies that received an average score of zero.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Harms to Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including violations of the right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), often go hand in hand with tropical deforestation. This is due to the fact that the production of commodities that drive deforestation – such as beef, soy, palm oil, and timber – often occurs in areas that overlap with Indigenous lands. For example, JBS meatpacking plants, which supply many European supermarkets, were recently found to have purchased beef from farms illegally located in the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon.
Global Canopy’s Forest 500 assessment measures the strength of FPIC commitments by the companies with the highest exposure to tropical deforestation. To receive a perfect score, companies must also commit to only proceed with operations if Indigenous peoples have given consent. In the 2024 Forest 500 Assessment, companies on average met just 17.7% of Forest 500’s criteria for strong FPIC commitments, and 316 out of the 500 companies assessed received a score of zero, meaning they met none of Forest 500’s criteria. This is consistent with the average of 17.6% in 2023.
Definitions
FPIC: According to the 2023 Company Assessment Methodology, “Companies can score for evidencing how they’re implementing their commitment on FPIC.”
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Forest 500 assesses companies with high levels of exposure to deforestation risk. Prior to 2024, Forest 500 assessed 350 companies. Starting with their 2024 assessment, Forest 500 assesses 500 companies.
- Data for company rankings was sourced from Forest 500. Specifically, the data can be downloaded from Forest 500 Data & Methods – Forest 500. Once downloaded, the data needs to be converted to an Excel file from a csv file. Consult the latest version of the methodology to determine which indicators to use. Different indicators were used for each year:
- For the data from the 2024 Forest 500 Assessment, the Dashboard used indicator 5.06: “Does the company have a due diligence process in place to monitor, report and verify compliance of its commitments on FPIC within its own operations and/or its supply chains?” and indicator 6.07: “Does the company report on progress towards and/or outcomes of monitoring the compliance of its commitment on FPIC within its own operations and/or its supply chains?” Companies can score a total of 1.75 points for indicator 5.06 and 1 point for indicator 6.07.
- For the data from the 2023 Forest 500 Assessment, the Dashboard used indicator 5.13: “Does the company monitor the compliance of production or primary processing operations that it owns, manages, or otherwise controls, or its supply chains with its commitment on labour rights?” and indicator 5.14: “Does the company monitor the compliance of production or primary processing operations that it owns, manages, or otherwise controls, or its supply chains with its commitment on FPIC?” Companies can score a total of 3 points for each of these indicators.
- For the years 2021 and 2022, the focus was on sub-indicator “4.1.1: Does the company monitor the compliance of its own, managed, or controlled production or primary processing operations, as well as its supply chains, with its commitments to labor rights and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)?” This sub-indicator was unique to the 2021 and 2022 datasets and was not a part of the datasets from 2018 to 2020.
- First, we sorted the data on companies to view only the scores for the relevant indicator(s) for each company. In 2024, companies received scores in 9 commodity groups: palm oil, soy, beef, leather, timber, pulp and paper, cocoa, coffee, and rubber. (In the 2024 Forest 500 Companies Assessment, indicators 5.06 and 6.07 were linked to indicator 4.04, so scores for 5.06 were found in columns labelled “Commodity 4.04 – 5.06 score” and scores for 6.07 were found in columns labelled “Commodity 4.04 – 6.07 score.”)
- Next, we took the average (arithmetic mean) of each indicator score across commodities for each company. For the 2024 Assessment: we calculated the average (arithmetic mean) score for each company for 5.06 and 6.07. Then we added those averages and divided the summed score by 2.75 (the sum of the total possible points in 2024). We then multiplied that fraction by 100 to get a percent score for each company, and then took the average (arithmetic mean) of the percentages to get an average percent for all the companies assessed.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Harms to Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including violations of the right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), often go hand in hand with tropical deforestation. This is due to the fact that the production of commodities that drive deforestation – such as beef, soy, palm oil, and timber – often occurs in areas that overlap with Indigenous lands.
Global Canopy’s Forest 500 assessment measures the extent to which the companies with the highest exposure to tropical deforestation comply with FPIC requirements and monitor FPIC commitments and labor rights. In Forest 500’s 2024 Assessment, companies complied with just 13.6% of the criteria on average. This is a significant decrease from the average of 19.6% in 2023.
Definitions
FPIC: According to the 2023 Financial Institution Assessment Methodology, “Use of the term FPIC in reference to indigenous people and/or local communities is required to score points under this indicator.”
Historical data and current trend methodology
- Data was collected from the Forest 500 Ranking Dashboard (data for 2018-2022 Assessments). The full data set was downloaded from the Forest 500 Methods webpage in 2025. Consult the latest version of the methodology to determine which indicators to use. Different indicators were from the Assessments for each year:
- For 2024, indicator 4.04 was used: Does the financial institution require the clients/holdings to ensure the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of potentially affected Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs) prior to acquiring new interests in land or resources, and new developments or expansions?
- For 2023, indicator 4.1 was used: Does the financial institution require the clients/holdings to ensure the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of indigenous peoples and local communities prior to acquiring new interests in land or resources and prior to new developments or expansions, not proceeding with these operations unless consent has been given by the aforementioned stakeholder? Scores from all 150 financial institutions included in the 2023 Forest 500 Assessment were included in the calculation.
- For 2022, indicator 2.7 was used: Does the financial institution require the clients/holdings to test for the Free, Prior and informed consent (FPIC) of Indigenous Peoples and local communities prior to acquiring new interests in land or resources and prior to new developments or expansions, not proceeding with these operations unless consent has been given? Data was collected only for financial institutions who achieved the full 3 scores, indicating their requirement for their clients and holdings.
- For 2021, indicator 2.6 was used: The financial institution requires the company to ensure the FPIC of Indigenous Peoples and local communities; Data was collected only for financial institutions who achieve the full 4 scores, indicating their requirement for companies.
- For 2018 – 2020, indicator 2.5 was used: The financial institution requires the company to ensure the FPIC of Indigenous and local communities; Data was collectedly only if financial institutions achieved the full 4 scores, indicating their requirement for companies.
- We sorted the data on financial institutions to view only the scores for the relevant indicator for each financial institution. In 2023, financial institutions received scores in 4 commodity groups: palm oil, soy, beef and leather, and timber and pulp and paper. In 2024, financial institutions received scores in 7 commodity groups: palm oil; soy; beef and leather; timber, pulp and paper; cocoa; coffee; and rubber. We took the average (arithmetic mean) of the commodity scores for each financial institution, and divided the average score for each financial institution by the total possible points for the indicator (in 2023, the total possible points for indicator 4.1 was 2.5 points. In 2024, Forest 500 did not specify the total possible points for indicator 4.04. However, given (1) indicator 4.04 seems similar to 4.1 in 2023, (2) Forest 500’s 2024 Financial Institution Methodology noted indicators for which scores had changed, and (3) no score higher than 2.5 appears in the data, the Forest Declaration Dashboard surmises that 2.5 are the total possible points for indicator 4.04 in the 2024 assessment.). We then multiplied the fraction of total possible points by 100 to get a % score for each financial institution and took the average (arithmetic mean) of all the percentage scores to get an average percent for all financial institutions assessed.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Harms to Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including violations of the right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), often go hand in hand with tropical deforestation. This is because the production of commodities that drive deforestation – such as beef, soy, palm oil, and timber – often occurs in areas that overlap with Indigenous lands. For example, the large meatpackers Minerva and Frigorifico Concepción were found to be sourcing from ranchers responsible for illegal land grabbing of Indigenous lands in Paraguay since 2018, and yet, major financiers such as HSBC, BlackRock, and Santander have continued to invest in these companies.
Despite these risks, across the 150 financial institutions with the highest exposure to tropical deforestation in their portfolios – as evaluated in Global Canopy’s Forest 500 assessment – the average score of the strength of requirements that clients and holdings must test for FPIC of Indigenous Peoples is only 14% as of Forest 500’s 2024 Assessment. This is a significant drop from 24% in the 2023 Assessment. The drop may be explained by Forest 500 expanding the financial institution assessment to include more commodities than in past years. A full 100% is achieved by financial institutions who require clients and holdings to test for FPIC of Indigenous peoples and local communities before acquiring new interests, developments, or expansions and not proceed with these operations unless consent has been given.
Historical data and current trend methodology
- This indicator draws on data from a 2023 assessment of 27 NBSAPs published without updates under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and a 2025 assessment of 17 NBSAPs published with GBF updates. In both assessments, the NBSAPs were selected based on whether the country had significant forest area (defined as at least 10% forest cover in the 2025 assessment) and whether there is presence of IPs and/or LCs.
- The 2023 assessment was conducted by Climate Focus and Parabukas. It used a set of twelve indicators to conduct a text analysis of 27 NBSAP documents. The analysis was designed to evaluate whether IPs, LCs, and women were involved in developing the NBSAPs and whether the NBSAPs included provisions to ensure that biodiversity conservation respects and strengthens their rights. This assessment also included additional policy review and stakeholder interviews for 7 countries. The 27 countries whose NBSAPs were assessed were: Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Mexico, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, , South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, and Zambia. Full methodology can be found in the source report.
- The 2025 assessment was conducted by Elisa Scalise (WRI) and Climate Focus. It used a set of 15 indicators to conduct a text analysis of 17 NBSAP documents. The 17 countries whose NBSAPs were assessed were: Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Suriname, Tanzania, Uganda, and Venezuela. These were the only post-GBF NBSAPs for countries that fit the above-mentioned criteria. The full methodology will be available in a forthcoming Forest Declaration Assessment brief.
Historical data sources
Full description, licensing and other information available at the original data source.
Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities are essential, effective stewards of forests and biodiversity. Countries’ National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity provide a critical opportunity for governments to engage Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities as full and equal partners in achieving global biodiversity targets. NBSAPs that take a rights-based approach centered on respect for communities’ knowledge and skills offer the best path for achieving ambitious and long-lasting biodiversity conservation gains. However, NBSAPs show major gaps in including Indigenous Peoples and local communities in their design and implementation. This remains true even among NBSAPs that have been updated to align with the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Post-GBF NBSAPs were mostly published in 2024 and 2025, which provided an opportunity to compare these updated NBSAPs with pre-GBF NBSAPs.
Assessments of select NBSAPs from forest-rich countries in 2023 and in 2025 show slight improvements between pre- and post-GBF NBSAPs. From 2023 to 2025, the percent of assessed NBSAPs that specifically mention consultation with Indigenous Peoples and/or local communities in strategy development rose from 30% to 35%. Mention of consultation with women from these communities also rose, from 15% to 23%. 47% of NBSAPs assessed in 2023 included strengthening the rights of Indigenous Peoples and/or local communities as a biodiversity conservation strategy, while 53% of those assessed in 2025 include this provision.
However, significant gaps remain. None of the NBSAPs reviewed in either assessment have clear safeguards to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, despite extensive evidence of biodiversity conservation efforts violating these rights. Consultations with communities are often inadequately funded, have a limited scope or timeframe, and are not representative of the diverse knowledge and experience of communities in countries.
