; (B) worsened the severity of droughts and the effects of landslides and floods; (C) led to further deforestation due to slash and burn practices when eroded areas are no longer productive; (D) increased the pressure on the remaining land and trees in Haiti and Armenia; and (E) significantly decreased water quality and the quantity of freshwater and clean drinking water available to populations; (8) research strongly suggests that deforestation increases the risk of infectious diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, SARS, Ebola, Han­ta­vi­rus, and Zika— (A) by depriving insect and animal carriers of habitat; and (B) by directly increasing their rate of exposure to human populations who are susceptible to zoonotic pathogens; (9) both Haiti and Armenia have faced natural disasters in recent years, the effects of which have been exacerbated by deforestation, such as— (A) flooding in Armenia that has swept away or damaged thousands of homes, schools, health clinics, and other institutions, partly because of damage to forests through illegal logging, landslides, and soil erosion; (B) hurricanes in Haiti that have killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more, partly because the clearing of large hillsides enabled rainwater to run off directly into settlements located at the bottom of slopes, causing severe flooding; and (C) the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which destroyed much of the infrastructure of Port-au-Prince, reduced hillside stability and increased the likelihood of mud­slides, soil erosion, and flooding factors, which negatively impacted the water supply and heightened concerns for the spread of waterborne diseases; (10) economic benefits for local communities from sustainable uses of forests are critical for the long-term sustainable management of forests in Haiti and Armenia