Saving forests could help prevent future pandemics

摘要

WE COULD avoid future pandemics if unsustainable practices such as deforestation and the industrial-scale wildlife trade are halted, according to a global biodiversity report. The cost of doing so would be paid back many times over, simply because it reduces the chances of another pandemic. Millions of people are living or working in close contact with wild animals that carry diseases, and these industries aren't properly regulated. The more people cut down forests for farmland, for example, the more they are pushing into animals' habitats and thus coming into regular contact with disease-carrying wildlife.