Investing in Forests to Build Back Better & Greener: How Forests Can Contribute to Strengthening the Resilience of Societies and Economies

The world’s forests act as shields, keeping humans safe from zoonotic diseases, such as coronaviruses. Their destruction can have devastating consequences for global public health. Forest conservation and restoration are win-wins for stimulus investment. They can create millions of green jobs to boost rural economies and provide long term sustainable growth. Recovery packages and corporate bailouts should be structured in ways that reduce, not increase, deforestation in order to strengthen the resilience of societies and economies.