A new FAO technical note highlights how improved reporting of forest-related public expenditure can help countries better understand, track, and communicate their investments in forests.
The publication, Enhanced reporting on forest public expenditure: Outcome of the pilot activity in Latin America, presents the results of a pilot initiative carried out by FAO’s Statistics Division and FAO Forestry Division in seven Latin American countries: the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru.
Since 2014, FAO has been collecting global data on public expenditure in agriculture, including forestry. However, forest-related spending is often difficult to capture in national accounts. In Latin America and the Caribbean, only 16 of 33 countries provided forestry data to FAO between 2020 and 2024. One of the main challenges is that spending related to forests may be recorded under broader economic or environmental categories, making it less visible in official reporting.
To address this gap, the pilot tested an enhanced methodology for identifying and reporting forest-related public expenditure. The approach helped countries look more closely at expenditure linked to forest conservation, restoration, and regeneration, and sustainable forest development, including activities that may otherwise be classified under broader categories such as biodiversity protection or environmental management.
The results show the importance of improving how forest expenditure is tracked. Using the enhanced methodology, reported forest public expenditure in the pilot countries increased by 30% on average compared with the existing reporting approach. Across the participating countries, reported spending rose from USD 298 million in 2020 to USD 540 million in 2024, with cumulative forest spending reaching USD 2.08 billion in nominal terms over the period.
This does not necessarily mean that countries suddenly spent more on forests. Rather, it shows that existing reporting systems may have been underestimating the full scale of public investments already supporting the sector. Better classification helped make visible expenditure that was previously hidden under broader public finance categories.
Improved reporting matters because public expenditure data can inform policy decisions, support budget planning, and help countries monitor progress towards forest-related goals and commitments. It can also strengthen the visibility of forests within national investment frameworks, especially where forest conservation, restoration, and sustainable use contribute to climate action, biodiversity, rural livelihoods, and sustainable development.
The publication also captures lessons learned from the pilot. Participating countries noted that existing budget classification systems do not always provide enough detail to capture the diversity of forest-related expenditure. They also highlighted the need for stronger coordination across institutions, improved technical capacity, and the use of digital and analytical tools to make data compilation and classification more efficient.
Countries recommended that FAO continue refining and progressively scaling up the methodological approach, while maintaining compatibility with existing reporting systems. The publication provides practical guidance, including examples of COFOG categories that may be relevant to forestry and an expanded questionnaire to support more detailed reporting.
By helping countries identify where public resources for forests are going, the new FAO publication contributes to a clearer picture of national investments in forest conservation, restoration, and sustainable forest management.
Contact Information: Lucio Santos
