ACTION ALERT: To Prevent the Next Pandemic, President Biden and Congress Must Stop Deforestation

The Daily Kos / Action Network Petition

 (March 9, 2021) — As COVID-19 continues to escalate, policymakers must take action to stop this nightmare from repeating. Deforestation, climate change, wildlife trade and environmental destruction are driving a nearly exponential acceleration of new diseases. There were six times more animal-to-human outbreaks in 2010 than 1980. Without action now, we will face a new pandemic as deadly as Ebola and as contagious as the worst strains of COVID — and more likely within the next decade than the next century.

Pandemics are both accelerating and getting worse, and tropical deforestation is by far the largest cause of new outbreaks. In order to prevent the next global pandemic, we must stop deforestation. Fortunately, we are able to halt deforestation before it’s too late, but it will require legislation and a commitment from the US government to take action now.  We have seen effective models for tackling deforestation, and we know it’s possible. 

But we cannot wait — we must urge Congress and President Biden to act immediately to make up for lost time under the previous Administration.

Turns out, the way to stop looming deadly pandemics, protect rainforests (and take a big bite out of climate change) is to meet basic human rights for healthcare and jobs training at the rainforest edge. Oftentimes, Indigenous and local communities are forced to give up their lands to cover the cost of out-of-pocket medical bills or in search of cash for other necessities. These lands are then razed and turned into cash crops for big polluters while their ancestral protectors are left without. 

COVID-19 is conservatively estimated to cost the US economy at least $16 trillion, and the global costs are much higher. Prevention is vastly less costly. If Congress acts now, Joe Biden can leverage funds from other countries at the G7 Summit this year.

We Cannot Afford Continued Global Pandemics

We demand our government include $2.5 billion in the next COVID relief bill to support healthcare and jobs training for indigenous people in every tropical rainforest community, and support impoverished nations to build the healthcare systems to stop outbreaks before they spread. 

Ending deforestation is our best chance to conserve wildlife, one of the quickest and most cost effective ways to curb global warming, and absolutely crucial to prevent the next deadly, global pandemic. 

Pandemics Are Increasing as Nature Dies

Pandemics are both accelerating and getting worse, and tropical deforestation is by far the largest cause of new outbreaks.

In order to prevent the next global pandemic, we must stop deforestation. Fortunately, we are able to do so before it’s too late, but it will require legislation and a commitment from the US government to take action now.

Ending deforestation is our best chance to conserve wildlife, one of the quickest and most cost effective ways to curb global warming, and absolutely crucial to prevent the next deadly, global pandemic.

COVID-19 has highlighted the fact that continued deforestation makes future pandemics more likely: displaced wildlife species put them in close proximity with each other and to humans.

As humans continue to cut down our forests and build more infrastructure, we’re increasing the risk of pandemics.

In order to prevent the next global pandemic, we must slow and stop human deforestation activities. That is why we must urge our government to establish forest conservation policies.

Ending deforestation is our best chance to conserve wildlife, one of the quickest and most cost effective ways to curb global warming, and tamp down the spread of a long list of diseases — COVID-19, Zika, Nipah, malaria, cholera and HIV among them.

We cannot afford continued global pandemics! Demand our government and private companies address this issue immediately.

Sign the Petition: $2.5 billion to build back better, stop new outbreaks and stop the COVID-19 catastrophe from repeating itself

Participating Organizations:

Brazilian Rainforest Trust
Consumers United For Fairness
Daily Kos
Endangered Species Coalition
Health in Harmony
The Juggernaut ProjectvMarked by COVID
Mighty Earth
The Natural History Museum
R2H Action [Right to Health]
Stand.earth