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Deforestation reduces malaria bed nets' effectiveness
When a forest is lost to development, some effects are obvious. Stumps and mud puddles across the landscape, a plowed field or houses a year after that. But deforestation isn’t just a loss of trees; it’s a loss of the countless benefits that forests provide — one of which is control of disease. Now, a global study shows that a widespread malaria-fighting strategy — bed nets — becomes less effective as deforestation rises. The research underscores how important a healthy environment can be for human health.