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. 

Sudan is a mostly arid country, dominated by the agricultural sector which includes cropping, livestock, forestry and fishing, and related processing activities. Conversion of natural forests to cropland and pastures as well as fuel wood production are the country’s leading drivers of deforestation and have contributed to the loss of almost 600,000 ha of forests per year in recent decades.

Just over 5% of Pakistan’s total land area is covered by forests and planted trees, and every year, the country loses about 27,000 ha of these forests. Pakistan now faces the threat of accelerated deforestation and forest degradation driven primarily by its rising population and associated wood demands, and weak governance of land and forest tenure.

Nigeria is home to a wide range of ecological habitats, from tropical rainforests to drylands. Tropical rainforests in the Southeastern part of the country are one of the world’s 25 most important biodiversity hotspots. Nigeria’s forest cover (currently estimated to be around 9.6 million ha) has dramatically declined in recent decades, driven primarily by agricultural development, fuelwood demand, uncontrolled forest harvesting and urbanization.

Bhutan is a small, mountainous, landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas. The country’s total forest area has expanded slowly over the past 15 years, with forest cover making up just over 70% of the country’s land area. With the country’s goal to harness ambitious levels of hydropower by 2020, development activities are expected to result in reduced forest cover.