UK Security Threat Report: 3 key takeaways and why rainforests matter

UK Security Threat Report: 3 key takeaways and why rainforests matter

For the first time, the UK government is clear that rainforest destruction is a growing threat to people, economies and stability.

When the UK government talks about national security, you might picture borders, cyber threats or geopolitics. But its new National Security Report says something else loud and clear: nature loss is a real and growing threat to people, economies and stability, including here in the UK.

Here are three key takeaways, and why rainforests and the people protecting them sit right at the heart of the solution.

1. Nature loss is no longer an “environment” issue.

The report links ecosystem collapse to food insecurity, economic shocks, displacement and conflict. When rainforests are destroyed, climate extremes worsen. Supply chains wobble. Prices rise.

This isn’t abstract risk. It shows up in daily life – from supermarket shelves, to energy bills and global instability.

2. The UK’s security depends on nature beyond its borders.

Rainforests thousands of miles away, from the Amazon to the Congo, help regulate climate, rainfall and capture carbon. Lose rainforests and global systems tip out of balance.

The report recognises that the UK can’t protect itself without protecting nature globally, especially critical ecosystems like rainforest. Protecting people in the UK means protecting ecosystems thousands of miles away.

3. People are central to protection, even if policy doesn’t always say it.

What the report talks less about is how to do that. But the evidence is already there. Indigenous and local communities are the most effective guardians of rainforest.

Where communities have resources, security and rights, rainforests stand. Where they don’t, rainforest loss accelerates.

Reports don’t protect rainforests. People do.

That’s why we back Indigenous and local communities directly, and why we’re working with our NGO Forest Coalition to push the UK government to go further, moving money and power to the people already protecting rainforest on the frontlines.

Security isn’t just about defence. It’s about care, justice and smart choices that keep our world, and all of us, safe.