The second Resource newsletter this year reaches you in a changed world, a world in crisis, with the Covid-19 pandemic driving it home how forest loss and degradation contribute to the spread of diseases.
The destruction of forest ecosystems through land conversion pushes exotic species off their natural habitats and places them closer to human populations, amplifying windows for interaction and emergence of new strains of diseases.
The good news is that according to FAO’s recently published State of the World’s Forests report the rate of forest loss is decreasing globally and solutions that balance conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity exist.
A green economy is what we need when we build the economy back up, more resilient and sustainable. By “building back better” we should prioritize investments in the rural sector, particularly those intended to stop deforestation, restore natural habitats and scale up regenerative agriculture. And as you know, forests are a crucial source of ecosystem services for key economic sectors and therefore central to a green recovery.
All of this is very important, because while emissions are temporarily down due to global lockdowns, Oxford economists warn that they could rebound with a vengeance as nations recover. Without the right policies, they write, “we will leap from the Covid frying pan into the climate fire.”
