The Sydney Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development, adopted at the 15^th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in 2007, announced an APEC-wide aspirational goal of increasing forest cover in the region by at least 20 million hectares of all types of forests by 2020 known as APEC 2020 Forest Cover Goal.

This report assesses the extent to which the APEC 2020 Forest Cover Goal was achieved. It updates a progress report, published in 2015, with information provided in 2021 by 12 of the 21 APEC economies and an analysis of the 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment. It documents the key direct and indirect drivers for forest cover change identified by member economies, measures implemented that contributed to the increase of forest cover. It also put forward recommendations to promoting conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable management of forests in the APEC region.

According to the outcomes of the project, the APEC 2020 Forest Cover Goal was achieved, as the forest cover in the region increased by 27.9 million hectares between 2007 and 2020, exceeding original goal of 20 million hectares. The achievement of this goal marks an important contribution of APEC economies to global efforts in addressing climate change, promoting sustainable growth and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).