The depletion of forests in conservation hotspots is a poorly known societal concern of the post-conflict society of Angola. Rapid economic and population growth, fragile environmental regulation, enforcement, and planning threat these invaluable forests and their biodiversity. By mitigating climate change through a sustainable management of forests, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) could also favour the preservation of biodiversity. This study addresses the depletion of forests in Angolan conservation ‘hotspots’ under a REDD+ perspective. In the escarpment forest, a centre of endemism, activity data, and emission factors were assessed between 2001 and 2014. Next, spatial factors associated with deforestation were identified using generalized linear modelling, and it was provided a view on how REDD+ may support sustainable forest management in conservation hotspots. Activity data based on an error-corrected estimate indicated a deforested area of 4856.3 ± 653.1 ha between 2001 and 2014. Field mean above-ground carbon content amounted to 89.4 ± 126.4 tCha-1. Among the most relevant factors associated with deforestation were elevation, density of bare land, north–south exposure (aspect), and distance to trails. All negatively related to deforestation. Overall, the threatened escarpment forest conservation hotspot seems to have significant potential for reducing carbon emissions and beneficiate from REDD+. Yet the considerable uncertainty in our estimates limited the discussions in the magnitude of forest depletion and carbon emissions. In view of performance-based payments for development, additional field surveying is necessary to boost the accuracies presented by new forest monitoring tools that can reduce technical difficulties and sustain the eligibility of Angola for international REDD+ funding sources.