As we were putting the finishing touches to The State of the World’s Forests 2020 (SOFO), the world came face to face with the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the immediate global priority is to tackle this public health emergency, our long-term response must also address the underlying causes of such a pandemic. The degradation and loss of forests is one such contributing factor, disrupting nature’s balance and increasing the risk and exposure of people to zoonotic diseases. Understanding and keeping track of the state of our world’s forests has never been so important.
