Rampant destruction of forests ‘will unleash more pandemics’
By Robin McKie
The Guardian
August 30, 2020
Researchers to tell UN that loss of biodiversity enables rapid spread of new diseases from animals to humans
Scientists are to warn world leaders that increasing numbers of deadly new pandemics will afflict the planet if levels of deforestation and biodiversity loss continue at their current catastrophic rates.
A UN summit on biodiversity, scheduled to be held in New York next month, will be told by conservationists and biologists there is now clear evidence of a strong link between environmental destruction and the increased emergence of deadly new diseases such as Covid-19.