The Destruction of Nature is the Cause of Pandemics
In recent decades, people have increasingly infiltrated the natural world, resulting in rapidly increasing levels of contact between humans, livestock and wildlife. As a result, the frequency and number of new zoonotic diseases, originating in animals and transmitted to people, has risen drastically over the last century. Every year, around three to four new zoonotic diseases are emerging. These new diseases constitute a grave threat to human health, causing deadly pandemics including HIV/AIDS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and most recently COVID-19.
The increased emergence of zoonotic diseases is linked to two widespread environmental risks:
1. Our unsustainable food systems:
Many recent pandemics, including COVID-19, have been linked to the high-risk trade and consumption of wildlife in markets and restaurants. The aftermath of these are that increased exposure to animal pathogens at the interface between nature, humans and livestock, and increased vulnerability to animal pathogens, which influenced the increased risk of zoonotic disease emergence.
2. Our illegal and high-risk trade and consumption of wildlife:
Land conversion for food and livestock production is destroying and fragmenting natural habitats around the world. The consequence of these is that it increases our vulnerability to animal pathogens, which results to broader negative environmental consequences, including climate change and biodiversity loss.
Now is our time to take immediate steps to prevent future pandemics, and to support systemic changes that will protect the health of both the planet and people over the long term by:
1. Stopping illegal, unregulated and high-risk wildlife trade and consumption:
Policymakers should take steps to halt the sale and trade of high-risk wildlife species, which creates dangerous opportunities for zoonotic disease spillover.
2. Supporting sustainable food systems that stops violation on nature:
Limit the impacts of COVID-19 on people and nature by ensuring agricultural deforestation and conversion does not increase as immediate food security is pursued.
3. Building a more sustainable relationship between people and nature through sustainable and just economic recovery approaches with defined and holistic goals:
Develop economic recovery packages that respond to immediate needs while building long-term resilience.
To summarize, human activities destroys nature which results to creating zoonotic diseases (pandemics). These diseases pose a grave threat to human health. The increased emergence of zoonotic diseases is linked to two widespread environmental risks: our unstoppable food systems, and our illegal and high-risk trade and consumption of wildlife. To prevent future pandemics, we should start on stopping illegal, unregulated and high-risk wildlife trade and consumption, supporting sustainable food systems that stops violation on nature, and building a more sustainable relationship between people and nature through sustainable and just economic recovery approaches with defined and holistic goals.
