The Global Forest Goals Report 2026, presented at the United Nations Forum on Forests in New York, underscores the critical need for international cooperation to protect forests, which are vital for climate stability and sustainable development. The report reveals that only seven of the 26 targets of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests have been broadly achieved, with two targets—reversing deforestation and eradicating extreme poverty among forest-dependent communities—completely off track. From 2015 to 2025, the world lost over 40 million hectares of forest, an area larger than Germany, including significant losses of primary forests essential for biodiversity. Despite some progress in areas like protected zones and forest management, pressures from climate change and human activities continue to threaten forests globally. The report calls for enhanced political will and financial commitment to foster international cooperation, highlighting that effective tools and knowledge already exist to address these challenges. It stresses that forests are not only ecological assets but also crucial for rural development and poverty alleviation, supporting over a billion people worldwide.