Protecting Forests Is a Global Issue and a Local Challenge

As world leaders prepare to meet in New York this month for the United Nations General Assembly, they’ll have a whole host of issues on the table with the Sustainable Development Goals, a series of 17 broad goals aimed at tackling some of the biggest challenges facing the world today—including hunger, gender equality, water, climate change, ecosystems and more. Woven into the goals are measures to promote sustainable economic growth and also maintain sustainable ecosystems to prevent forest loss.

Taken together, the goals point to a basic truth: that agriculture and natural habitats are linked. And the global issue of deforestation, in particular, is at the intersection of healthy agricultural systems, healthy ecosystems and healthy communities.

Flashback to the UN gathering at

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