Forests and Human Health Stories

Zoonotic diseases are a stark reminder of how humans and nature are connected. While we can't predict where the next spillover will happen, we are able to identify the combination of factors that increase risk.

More than a year after the emergence of COVID-19, WWF worked with GlobeScan to conduct a survey of over 6,500 respondents in the United States, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar to build on the learnings from the original 2020 survey and gain a better understanding of consumer insight and perceptions of zoonotic spillover risk.

Tawau, the east malaysian district where Christina Ak Lang grew up, is a tropical paradise.

Environmental destruction and the high-risk wildlife trade are intimately connected with the emergence of new zoonotic diseases like COVID-19, but conservation could help prevent future pandemics.

As the world reels from the COVID-19 pandemic, WWF is working with global health company Johnson & Johnson to understand the underlying links between disease and deforestation.

Could sitting and observing our breath better connect us to the natural world?

The conservation and restoration of forests is a necessary component of a future where humanity is better able to manage and cope with the emergence of new infectious diseases. Without landscapes that balance the needs of both nature and people, the world will continue only to react to global health crises instead of preventing them.