Historical data and current trend methodology

• Different global data and methods can be used to approximate deforestation, though none perfectly captures trends in permanent forest loss. Here, we provide an estimate of deforestation using a combination of datasets available on Global Forest Watch. These are annual tree cover loss (Hansen et al. 2013) updated to 2024,  dominant drivers of tree cover loss (Sims et al. 2025) updated to 2024, and extent of primary humid tropical forest (Turubanova et al. 2018). Deforestation is calculated as the area of tree cover loss within areas where the dominant driver was classified as permanent agriculture, hard commodities or settlements and infrastructure, as well as humid tropical primary forest loss due to expansion of shifting cultivation.
• Tree cover loss from fire, however, can be temporary in nature or lead to permanent land-use change. To illustrate this, one methodology—described in the State of Climate Action report—excludes all tree cover loss due to fire (Tyukavina et al. 2022) for estimating permanent forest loss, regardless of the dominant driver causing the loss. The other methodology—described in the Forest Declaration Assessment—excludes wildfires (Curtis et al. 2018) from the drivers of permanent forest loss.
• Critically, these estimates of deforestation have several limitations. In Hansen et al. (2013), the tree cover baseline for the year 2000 does includes both natural forests and forestry plantations, making it impossible to differentiate whether the tree cover loss identified from the year 2001 onward represents the loss of natural or planted forests. The dataset may also underestimate smaller-scale forest clearings due to the limitations of detecting such losses with medium-resolution (30 m) satellite data. Finally, improvements in the detection of tree cover loss—achieved with the incorporation of new satellite data and methodology changes between 2011 and 2015—may result in higher estimates of loss in recent years as compared to earlier years. For details on the improved methodology, see the technical blogs by Potapov et al. (2015) and by Weisse & Potapov (2021). Due to these adjustments in the methodology, data are only displayed from 2015 onward.
• Estimates of deforestation derived from remotely sensed data differ from those reported by countries due to differences in definitions, methods, and data sources. 
• The regional classification adopted for this indicator is based on the global distribution of forests by climatic domain (FAO, 2020). The geographic distribution of each climatic domain was overlaid with national borders, and each country was assigned to the climatic domain that overlapped with the largest percentage of its area. Regions are defined by a combination of continent and climatic domain. Country boundaries and continent assignments are based on the Database of Global Administrative Areas (GADM), version 3.6. The regional aggregation is detailed in Annex B of the 2024 Forest Declaration Assessment.