In Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) forests covered much of the country’s surface area in the 1970s, but have depleted to about 51% of its total land area since the late 1990s. Forest loss has been closely linked with interests in land-based investments, and has been driven primarily by shifting cultivation, agricultural expansion, logging and plantation agriculture.

Fiji consists of over 300 islands, of which 100 are inhabited. Native forests cover 858,000 ha, representing 47% of Fiji’s total land area, and have historically been the main source of wood for the country. Given Fiji’s low deforestation rate over the past two decades, the country’s REDD+ efforts are focused on conservation and enhancement of forests.

Although Uruguay has negative rates of deforestation, the country has seen a substantial change in land use in rural areas in recent years, driven by an increase in grain production and forest goods. Coupled with the country’s long-standing agricultural and livestock activities, Uruguay’s forests face more pressures than ever before.

Vanuatu is an archipelagic nation of about 83 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, with 36% (440,000 ha) of forest cover. Between 1980 and 1990, commercial logging was responsible for significant increases in forest degradation. More recently, small-scale subsistence activities have become one of the most important drivers of land use change affecting forests. Increasing infrastructure, tourism and agro-industry developments are also expected to become important drivers to be addressed in Vanuatu’s REDD+ efforts. 

Papua New Guinea is the largest of the Pacific Island nations, with a varied and rugged terrain home to a large range of ecosystems and biodiversity, and one of the most significant areas of intact tropical forest in the world. Over the past three decades, these forests have faced increasing levels of deforestation and degradation driven primarily by the expansion of logging and commercial agriculture.

Côte d'Ivoire has lost more than 80% of its natural forests over the past 50 years. This significant forest loss has led to a drastic reduction in related ecosystem services, including loss of livelihoods from forest resources, and reduction of climate resilience which has directly impacting the agricultural sector. Côte d'Ivoire’s forest loss has been driven primarily by slash-and-burn agricultural practices, as well as unsustainable logging of lumber, wood energy, and the lack of development, planning and management of forest areas.

One of the most important forest and biodiversity areas in Viet Nam is the country’s North-Central Coast (NCC) Region. It encompasses five internationally-recognized conservation corridors, and just under 60% of the area is forested. A significant amount of deforestation in the NCC region in recent decades has been driven by the expansion of agricultural land, mostly for rubber and cassava.

The Burkinabe government estimates that the country loses just under 110,000 ha of forest cover every year. Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Burkina Faso include agricultural expansion, overgrazing of livestock, bush fires, and demand for fuelwood and charcoal. Among other factors, poor forest governance and population growth in rural areas underlie these drivers.

Togo is a country with a low forest cover (just 7% of total land area in 2010) coupled with one of the world’s highest proportion of forest loss relative to forest area. In this small country situated on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, trees are at the center of the landscape in all rural areas. Deforestation and forest degradation, driven primarily by slash-and-burn agriculture and charcoal production, therefore present major development challenges for the country.