Indicators of Forest Designation

Protected Forests

Last Updated on April 4, 2024

This indicator aims to monitor the extent of forests that are legally protected by governments for conservation. It draws on the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which aggregates and publishes national maps of protected areas worldwide, including many legally protected indigenous territories, as well as 30-meter (m) resolution maps of global tree cover extent. Critically, having legal protection status does not always indicate that active protection is occurring. 

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How much forest is legally protected around the world?

Approximately 21 percent of global forest area is currently under some form of legal protection. Countries with the largest amount of forest overall—such as Brazil and Russia—also tend to have the largest amount of forest under protection. Countries with a high percentage of their forests under protection—such as Cambodia and Poland—often tend to be smaller countries and/or countries with fewer remaining forests.  

The top 10 countries with the greatest area of protected forest

 
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How much tropical primary forest and intact forest landscape is legally protected?

Existing protected areas cover 39 percent of tropical primary forest and 46 percent of global intact forest landscapes, which are forest types considered highly valuable for carbon storage and biodiversity protection. 

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How much tree cover is being lost in legally protected forests?

In 2023, protected areas experienced 3.8 million hectares (Mha) of tree cover loss, including 0.69 Mha of primary forests and 1.3 Mha in intact forests. A total of 60 Mha of tree cover loss has occurred within protected areas since 2001, and a total of 13.2 Mha of tree cover gain also occurred in these areas between 2001 and 2020. In strict nature reserves, wilderness areas, and national parks (a subset of all protected areas that often have the most importance for biodiversity conservation), tree cover loss has increased since 2001 by an average of 14 percent per year, equivalent to 7 percent of tree cover extent in these areas in 2000. Much of this increase is due to Australian wildfires in late 2019 and early 2020, as well as Canadian wildfires in 2023.

Tree cover loss within protected areas can result from various causes. Whereas some tree cover loss within protected areas may be illegal and caused by humans (such as deforestation related to logging or agriculture), other tree cover loss may be due to natural causes (fire) or part of planned management activities. Furthermore, in some cases tree cover loss may be temporary and followed by forest regeneration, such as after a wildfire. 

The top 10 IUCN Category I and II protected areas experiencing the most tree cover loss from 2001 to 2023
 

 
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Limitations and Future Prospects

The WDPA is compiled by UNEP’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre in collaboration with over 600 data providers ranging from governments to individuals. A new version of the WDPA is released every month and made available through the Protected Planet webpage. Due to the inherent variability of data submitted by a wide range of data providers with different capacity and resources to digitize protected area boundaries, issues with the accuracy of the WDPA data should be expected. For example, statistics calculated from the WDPA may differ from national statistics. A detailed description of WDPA data standards, compilation processes, and known quality issues can be found online in the WDPA User Manual.

Although the availability of spatially explicit global forest change data now enables the calculation of tree cover loss and gain occurring within protected forests, it remains challenging to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the protected area designation as a tool for forest conservation. Legal designation of a protected area does not necessarily imply that active protection is occurring, especially in places where financial resources for conservation are limited. 

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Dark surfaces absorb the rays from the sun (low albedo).\r\n"},"94":{"name":"biodiversity intactness","description":"The proportion and abundance of a location\u0027s original forest community (number of species and individuals) that remain.\u0026nbsp;\r\n"},"95":{"name":"biodiversity significance","description":"The importance of an area for the persistence of forest-dependent species based on range rarity.\r\n"},"142":{"name":"boundary plantings","description":"Trees planted along boundaries or property lines to mark them well.\r\n"},"98":{"name":"carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)","description":"Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) is a measure used to aggregate emissions from various greenhouse gases (GHGs) on the basis of their 100-year global warming potentials by equating non-CO2 GHGs to the equivalent amount of CO2.\r\n"},"153":{"name":"climate domain","description":"Major ecosystem regions, summarized as boreal, temperate, tropical and subtropical.\u0026nbsp;"},"99":{"name":"CO2e","description":"Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) is a measure used to aggregate emissions from various greenhouse gases (GHGs) on the basis of their 100-year global warming potentials by equating non-CO2 GHGs to the equivalent amount of CO2.\r\n"},"1":{"name":"deforestation","description":"The change from forest to another land cover or land use, such as forest to plantation or forest to urban area.\r\n"},"77":{"name":"deforested","description":"The change from forest to another land cover or land use, such as forest to plantation or forest to urban area.\r\n"},"76":{"name":"degradation","description":"The reduction in a forest\u2019s ability to perform ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and water regulation, due to natural and anthropogenic changes.\r\n"},"75":{"name":"degraded","description":"The reduction in a forest\u2019s ability to perform ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and water regulation, due to natural and anthropogenic changes.\r\n"},"79":{"name":"disturbances","description":"A discrete event that changes the structure of a forest ecosystem.\r\n"},"68":{"name":"disturbed","description":"A discrete event that changes the structure of a forest ecosystem.\r\n"},"65":{"name":"driver of tree cover loss","description":"The cause of tree cover loss, such as agriculture or urban development. There are direct drivers, which are the immediate cause of the loss, and indirect drivers, which are the secondary cause of loss (i.e., land speculation)."},"70":{"name":"drivers of loss","description":"The cause of tree cover loss, such as agriculture or urban development. There are direct drivers, which are the immediate cause of the loss, and indirect drivers, which are the secondary cause of loss (i.e., land speculation)."},"81":{"name":"drivers of tree cover loss","description":"The cause of tree cover loss, such as agriculture or urban development. There are direct drivers, which are the immediate cause of the loss, and indirect drivers, which are the secondary cause of loss (i.e., land speculation)."},"102":{"name":"evapotranspiration","description":"When solar energy hitting a forest converts liquid water into water vapor (carrying energy as latent heat) through evaporation and transpiration.\r\n"},"154":{"name":"fastwood monoculture","description":"Stands of single species planted trees that grow quickly.\u0026nbsp;"},"53":{"name":"forest degradation","description":"The reduction in a forest\u2019s quality and ability to perform ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and water regulation, due to natural and anthropogenic changes."},"54":{"name":"forest disturbance","description":"A discrete event that changes the structure of a forest ecosystem.\r\n"},"100":{"name":"forest disturbances","description":"A discrete event that changes the structure of a forest ecosystem.\r\n"},"5":{"name":"forest fragmentation","description":"The breaking of large, contiguous forests into smaller pieces, with other land cover types interspersed.\r\n"},"155":{"name":"Forest Landscape Restoration","description":"The ongoing process of restoring landscapes to regain ecological functionality and enhance human well-being across deforested or degraded forest landscapes."},"156":{"name":"forest moratorium","description":"A temporary restriction on activities that cause forest loss or degradation."},"69":{"name":"fragmentation","description":"The breaking of large, contiguous forests into smaller pieces, with other land cover types interspersed.\r\n"},"80":{"name":"fragmented","description":"The breaking of large, contiguous forests into smaller pieces, with other land cover types interspersed.\r\n"},"74":{"name":"gain","description":"The establishment of tree canopy in an area that previously had no tree cover. Tree cover gain may indicate a number of potential activities, including natural forest growth or the crop rotation cycle of tree plantations.\r\n"},"143":{"name":"global land squeeze","description":"Pressure on finite land resources to produce food, feed and fuel for a growing human population while also sustaining biodiversity and providing ecosystem services.\r\n"},"7":{"name":"hectare","description":"One hectare equals 100 square meters, 2.47 acres, or 0.01 square kilometers.\r\n"},"66":{"name":"hectares","description":"One hectare equals 100 square meters, 2.47 acres, or 0.01 square kilometers."},"67":{"name":"intact","description":"A forest that contains no signs of human activity or habitat fragmentation as determined by remote sensing images and is large enough to maintain all native biological biodiversity.\r\n"},"78":{"name":"intact forest","description":"A forest that contains no signs of human activity or habitat fragmentation as determined by remote sensing images and is large enough to maintain all native biological biodiversity.\r\n"},"8":{"name":"intact forests","description":"A forest that contains no signs of human activity or habitat fragmentation as determined by remote sensing images and is large enough to maintain all native biological biodiversity.\r\n"},"55":{"name":"land and environmental defenders","description":"People who peacefully promote and protect rights related to land and\/or the environment.\r\n"},"161":{"name":"logging concession","description":"A legal agreement allowing an entity the right to manage a public forest for production purposes, including for timber and other wood products."},"157":{"name":"logging concessions","description":"A legal agreement allowing an entity the right to manage a public forest for production purposes, including for timber and other wood products."},"160":{"name":"Logging concessions","description":"A legal agreement allowing an entity the right to manage a public forest for production purposes, including for timber and other wood products."},"9":{"name":"loss driver","description":"The cause of tree cover loss, such as agriculture or urban development. There are direct drivers, which are the immediate cause of the loss, and indirect drivers, which are the secondary cause of loss (i.e., land speculation).\r\n"},"10":{"name":"low tree canopy density","description":"Less than 30 percent tree canopy density.\r\n"},"104":{"name":"managed natural forests","description":"Naturally regenerated forests with signs of management, including logging and clear cuts.Lesiv et al. 2022, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41597-022-01332-3"},"91":{"name":"megacities","description":"A city with more than 10 million people.\r\n"},"57":{"name":"megacity","description":"A city with more than 10 million people."},"86":{"name":"natural","description":"A forest that that grows with limited or no human intervention. Natural forests can be managed or unmanaged (see separate definitions).\u0026nbsp;"},"12":{"name":"natural forest","description":"A forest that that grows with limited or no human intervention. Natural forests can be managed or unmanaged (see separate definitions). \r\n"},"63":{"name":"natural forests","description":"A forest that that grows with limited or no human intervention. Natural forests can be managed or unmanaged (see separate definitions).\u0026nbsp;"},"144":{"name":"open canopy systems","description":"Individual tree crowns that do not overlap to form a continuous canopy layer.\r\n"},"88":{"name":"planted","description":"Stands of trees established through planting, including both planted forest and tree crops."},"14":{"name":"planted forest","description":"Planted trees \u2014 other than tree crops \u2014 grown for wood and wood fiber production or for ecosystem protection against wind and\/or soil erosion.\r\n"},"73":{"name":"planted forests","description":"Planted trees \u2014 other than tree crops \u2014 grown for wood and wood fiber production or for ecosystem protection against wind and\/or soil erosion."},"148":{"name":"planted trees","description":"Stands of trees established through planting, including both planted forest and tree crops."},"149":{"name":"Planted trees","description":"Stands of trees established through planting, including both planted forest and tree crops."},"15":{"name":"primary forest","description":"Old-growth forests that are typically high in carbon stock and rich in biodiversity. The GFR uses a humid tropical primary rainforest data set, representing forests in the humid tropics that have not been cleared in recent years.\r\n"},"64":{"name":"primary forests","description":"Old-growth forests that are typically high in carbon stock and rich in biodiversity. The GFR uses a humid tropical primary rainforest data set, representing forests in the humid tropics that have not been cleared in recent years.\r\n"},"58":{"name":"production forest","description":"A forest where the primary management objective is to produce timber, pulp, fuelwood, and\/or nonwood forest products."},"89":{"name":"production forests","description":"A forest where the primary management objective is to produce timber, pulp, fuelwood, and\/or nonwood forest products.\r\n"},"159":{"name":"restoration","description":"Interventions that aim to improve ecological functionality and enhance human well-being in degraded landscapes. Landscapes may be forested or non-forested."},"87":{"name":"seminatural","description":"Forest with predominantly native trees that have not been planted. Trees are established through silvicultural practices, including natural regeneration or selective thinning.FAO"},"59":{"name":"seminatural forests","description":"Forest with predominantly native trees that have not been planted. Trees are established through silvicultural practices, including natural regeneration or selective thinning.FAO"},"96":{"name":"shifting agriculture","description":"Agricultural practices where forests are cleared, used for agricultural production for a few years, and then temporarily abandoned to allow trees to regrow and soil to recover.\u0026nbsp;"},"103":{"name":"surface roughness","description":"Surface roughness of forests creates\u0026nbsp;turbulence that slows near-surface winds and cools the land as it lifts heat from low-albedo leaves and moisture from evapotranspiration high into the atmosphere and slows otherwise-drying winds. \r\n"},"17":{"name":"tree cover","description":"All vegetation greater than five meters in height and may take the form of natural forests or plantations across a range of canopy densities. Unless otherwise specified, the GFR uses greater than 30 percent tree canopy density for calculations.\r\n"},"71":{"name":"tree cover canopy density is low","description":"The percent of ground area covered by the leafy tops of trees. tree cover: All vegetation greater than five meters in height and may take the form of natural forests or plantations across a range of canopy densities. Unless otherwise specified, the GFR uses greater than 30 percent tree canopy density for calculations.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;"},"60":{"name":"tree cover gain","description":"The establishment of tree canopy in an area that previously had no tree cover. Tree cover gain may indicate a number of potential activities, including natural forest growth or the crop rotation cycle of tree plantations.\u0026nbsp;As such, tree cover gain does not equate to restoration.\r\n"},"18":{"name":"tree cover loss","description":"The removal or mortality of tree cover, which can be due to a variety of factors, including mechanical harvesting, fire, disease, or storm damage. As such, loss does not equate to deforestation.\r\n"},"163":{"name":"tree cover loss due to fire","description":"The mortality of tree cover where forest fires were the direct cause of loss.\u0026nbsp;"},"164":{"name":"tree cover loss due to fires","description":"The mortality of tree cover where forest fires were the direct cause of loss.\u0026nbsp;"},"162":{"name":"tree cover loss from fires","description":"The mortality of tree cover where forest fires were the direct cause of loss.\u0026nbsp;"},"150":{"name":"tree crops","description":"Stand of perennial trees that produce agricultural products, such as rubber, oil palm, coffee, coconut, cocoa and orchards."},"85":{"name":"trees outside forests","description":"Trees found in urban areas, alongside roads, or within agricultural land\u0026nbsp;are often referred to as Trees Outside Forests (TOF).\u202f\r\n"},"151":{"name":"unmanaged","description":"A forest that grows without human intervention and has no signs of management, including primary forest.Lesiv et al. 2022, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41597-022-01332-3"},"105":{"name":"unmanaged natural forests","description":"A forest that grows without human intervention and has no signs of management, including primary forest.Lesiv et al. 2022, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41597-022-01332-3"},"158":{"name":"tree cover loss from fire","description":"The mortality of tree cover where forest fires were the direct cause of loss.\u0026nbsp;"}}}

Citation

“Protected Forests Indicator.” Global Forest Review, updated April 4, 2024. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. Available online at https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-designation-indicators/protected-forests.