COVID-19 and nature are linked. So should be the recovery.
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UNCCD Library
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Web resource
The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of our dysfunctional relationship with nature.
Studies show deforestation and loss of wildlife cause increases in infectious diseases.
Half of the world’s GDP is highly or moderately dependent on nature. For every dollar spent on nature restoration, at least $9 of economic benefits can be expected.
Many people are wondering when life will get back to normal after the COVID-19 crisis. We should be asking: can we use this opportunity to learn from our mistakes and build something better?
A focus on nature can help us understand where pandemics come from and how the socioeconomic fallout from the crisis could be mitigated.
Health, economic stability and nature are interconnected
The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic is having undeniable human and economic impacts. To date, the virus has caused more than 119,000 confirmed deaths worldwide, millions of job losses and stock markets to dive. This pandemic is also a stark reminder of our dysfunctional relationship with nature. The current economic system has put great pressure on the natural environment, and the unfolding pandemic has shone a light on the domino effect that is triggered when one element in this interconnected system is destabilised.
Intact nature provides a buffer between humans and disease, and emerging diseases are often the results of encroachment into natural ecosystems and changes in human activity. In the Amazon, for example, deforestation increases the rates of malaria, since deforested land is the ideal habitat for mosquitoes. Deforested land has also been linked to outbreaks of Ebola and Lyme disease, as humans come into contact with previously untouched wildlife.
A study published this year found that deforestation in Uganda was increasing the emergence of animal-to-human diseases and stresses that human behaviour is the underlying cause. Altering nature too much or in the wrong way, therefore, can have devastating human implications.
While the origin of the COVID-19 virus is yet to be established, 60% of infectious diseases originate from animals, and 70% of emerging infectious diseases originate from wildlife. AIDS, for example, came from chimpanzees, and SARS is thought to have been transmitted from an animal still unknown to this day. We have lost 60% of all wildlife in the last 50 years, while the number of new infectious diseases has quadrupled in the last 60 years. It is no coincidence that the destruction of ecosystems has coincided with a sharp increase in such diseases.
As the World Economic Forum's Nature Risk Rising Report highlighted, over half of the world’s GDP is highly or moderately dependent on nature. Nature provides businesses and governments with vast opportunities. For every dollar spent on nature restoration, at least $9 of economic benefits can be expected. Additionally, a recent report by the Food and Land Use Coalition found that changing the way we farm and produce food could release $4.5 trillion a year in new business opportunities by 2030, while also saving us trillions of dollars’ worth of social and environmental harms. Respect for the way that nature works, therefore, is good for business as well as future generations.
Read further, sue the link above to see inforgraphics and more related information
Studies show deforestation and loss of wildlife cause increases in infectious diseases.
Half of the world’s GDP is highly or moderately dependent on nature. For every dollar spent on nature restoration, at least $9 of economic benefits can be expected.
Many people are wondering when life will get back to normal after the COVID-19 crisis. We should be asking: can we use this opportunity to learn from our mistakes and build something better?
A focus on nature can help us understand where pandemics come from and how the socioeconomic fallout from the crisis could be mitigated.
Health, economic stability and nature are interconnected
The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic is having undeniable human and economic impacts. To date, the virus has caused more than 119,000 confirmed deaths worldwide, millions of job losses and stock markets to dive. This pandemic is also a stark reminder of our dysfunctional relationship with nature. The current economic system has put great pressure on the natural environment, and the unfolding pandemic has shone a light on the domino effect that is triggered when one element in this interconnected system is destabilised.
Intact nature provides a buffer between humans and disease, and emerging diseases are often the results of encroachment into natural ecosystems and changes in human activity. In the Amazon, for example, deforestation increases the rates of malaria, since deforested land is the ideal habitat for mosquitoes. Deforested land has also been linked to outbreaks of Ebola and Lyme disease, as humans come into contact with previously untouched wildlife.
A study published this year found that deforestation in Uganda was increasing the emergence of animal-to-human diseases and stresses that human behaviour is the underlying cause. Altering nature too much or in the wrong way, therefore, can have devastating human implications.
While the origin of the COVID-19 virus is yet to be established, 60% of infectious diseases originate from animals, and 70% of emerging infectious diseases originate from wildlife. AIDS, for example, came from chimpanzees, and SARS is thought to have been transmitted from an animal still unknown to this day. We have lost 60% of all wildlife in the last 50 years, while the number of new infectious diseases has quadrupled in the last 60 years. It is no coincidence that the destruction of ecosystems has coincided with a sharp increase in such diseases.
As the World Economic Forum's Nature Risk Rising Report highlighted, over half of the world’s GDP is highly or moderately dependent on nature. Nature provides businesses and governments with vast opportunities. For every dollar spent on nature restoration, at least $9 of economic benefits can be expected. Additionally, a recent report by the Food and Land Use Coalition found that changing the way we farm and produce food could release $4.5 trillion a year in new business opportunities by 2030, while also saving us trillions of dollars’ worth of social and environmental harms. Respect for the way that nature works, therefore, is good for business as well as future generations.
Read further, sue the link above to see inforgraphics and more related information
Keywords
social contract
environmental crisis
environmental degradation
health hazards
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