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Global forest loss is slowing. That’s the key takeaway from the latest report by Global Forest Watch and the GLAD Lab at the University of Maryland. This shift is no coincidence. It reflects years of policies, investments, and structural changes in producing countries, increasingly focused on balancing economic growth with forest protection. 

In 2025, the loss of primary tropical rainforests declined by 36% compared to 2024 – a significant improvement. However, overall levels remain high: 4.3 million hectares were lost in a single year, equivalent to more than 11 football fields per minute, and still 46% above the decade average.

The key point, however, is that the trend is beginning to change.

Something is Changing

The goal of “zero deforestation” remains ambitious, but it now appears closer than in the past. In several key commodity-producing countries, forest loss is stable or declining. These include major palm oil producers such as Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Malaysia, where there are growing signs of stronger control, improved monitoring, and more structured land management.

These are not random dynamics. In recent years, these countries have introduced stricter policies that significantly limit the expansion of plantations and agricultural land, reduce the number of concessions, and strengthen cadastral systems, geolocation, monitoring, traceability, and supply chain governance, while also promoting training for millions of workers. In other words, they have invested in concrete tools to reconcile production with biodiversity protection.

The focus is no longer limited to protected areas or pilot projects, but extends to broader policies that seek to balance economic needs, development, and environmental protection. From the outside – particularly in Western countries – these efforts are often still seen as insufficient. Yet they represent significant progress achieved in just a few years.

In this context, the European debate on the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) also comes into play. Rather than introducing a completely new direction, the EUDR builds on an already ongoing process: many producing countries had long started adapting their systems, both to maintain access to international markets and to reduce the risk of forest loss. Implementation delays do not change this reality – the convergence towards shared objectives is already underway.

It is therefore not surprising that the supply chain currently closest to meeting EUDR requirements is palm oil – the same sector that has been under the strongest scrutiny from NGOs and international institutions for over a decade. This illustrates that targeted policies and cooperation between industry and institutions can deliver meaningful results.

Producing Countries: From Observers to Drivers of Change

COLOMBIA: Primary forest loss declined by 17% between 2024 and 2025, reaching its second-lowest level since 2016. This result is supported by targeted policies and the involvement of local communities, including new forest concessions focused on protection and sustainable management.

GUATEMALA: After the 2024 peak, 2025 marks a return to the lowest levels of recent years, even below those recorded in 2023. This is a clear sign of recovery and improved control over forest loss dynamics.

INDONESIA: Forest loss increased by 14% year-on-year, but remains well below the peak levels of the mid-2010s. Government policies and corporate voluntary commitments – particularly in the palm oil sector – continue to help contain overall impacts.

MALAYSIA: The trend remains positive, with a slight decline between 2024 and 2025 reinforcing a multi-year improvement path, supported also by the strengthening of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme.

From Confrontation to Collaboration

Deforestation is not gone. But it is slowing down – and that shift is significant.

The most important shift, however, is in the overall framing. For years, the debate – especially around commodities like palm oil – has often drawn a simplified link between economic growth and deforestation. The data now suggest something more nuanced: agricultural and industrial production can evolve without automatically driving forest loss.

Sustainability does not arise from opposing the economy and the environment, but from their ability to coexist within rules, innovation, and shared responsibility.

Read Global Forest Watch 2025: Fires as Leading Cause of Deforestation >>>