CPF joint statement on COVID-19

In October 2020, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) released its joint statement Towards sustainability: forest solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic [English | French | Spanish].

Through this statement, the Partnership expressed its support to the integration of the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of all types of forests and trees outside forests into recovery measures in response to the causes and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to achieve sustainability. In particular, the CPF emphasizes:

  • the importance of healthy, resilient forests for ecosystem services and decreasing the risk of virus spillover from wildlife to humans;
  • the need to integrate actions such as the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of all types of forests into recovery strategies, including resource mobilization;
  • the importance of an OneHealth approach to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and in preventing future pandemics;
  • that now is the time to shift to more sustainable and environmentally friendly ways of living;
  • the importance of implementing the globally agreed forest-related goals and targets for halting deforestation, forest degradation and biodiversity loss; and
  • the need to turn this historic challenge into an opportunity by shifting to a greener, more inclusive economies and societies.