In this time of crisis, thousands of papers and guidelines have already been published about COVID-19. Most of these consider the important questions of how to respond to the ongoing public health crisis, or how to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. This report takes a step back and considers the root causes of the emergence and spread of the novel coronavirus and other ‘zoonoses’—diseases that are transmitted between animals and humans. The report also offers a set of practical recommendations that can help policymakers prevent and respond to future disease outbreaks.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen and ILRI Director General Jimmy Smith will launch the report at a press briefing live at noon NYC time on 6 July 2020.

The relationship between the environment, biodiversity, human society and human diseases is complex.2 While wildlife may be a source of human disease, domesticated animal sources may act as amplifiers of pathogens emerging from the wild. Moreover, as noted in this report, most emerging infectious diseases—whether in wildlife, domestic animals, plants or people—are driven by human activities such as agricultural intensification, wildlife use and mis-use, and human-induced landscape changes, interacting in unpredictable ways that can have negative outcomes.
Against this backdrop, it is important to recognize that disease emergence is not only about the relationship between domestic animals or wildlife and people, but also about the complexity of the system as a whole and the interactions between biotic and abiotic components.
Biodiversity, and the complexity of our landscapes and seascapes, is integral to social and ecological resilience. It is also important to take into account the complexrelationship between biodiversity and our mental and physical health, including non-communicable diseases as well as infectious diseases. The many linkages here include those related to air, water, food security, and nutrition.