Poor compliance and exemptions facilitate ongoing deforestation.

ABSTRACT: Many nations are struggling to reduce deforestation, despite having extensive environmental protection laws in place and commitments to international agreements that address the biodiversity and climate crises. We developed a novel framework to quantify the extent to which contemporary deforestation is being captured under national and subnational laws. We then applied this framework to northern Australia as a case study, a development and deforestation hotspot with ecosystems of global significance. First, deforestation may be compliant under all relevant legislation, either through assessment and approval or because of exemptions in the legislation. Second, deforestation may be compliant under at least one relevant law, but not all. Third, there may be no evidence of deforestation assess

SUBMITTER: Thomas H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11780193 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature