So should be the recovery.
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.
- 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.
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 … READ MORE
Nature should be part of the solution.
This coronavirus crisis has demonstrated our socioeconomic system’s inherent vulnerability to shocks. As businesses assess how to emerge from this crisis and governments devise stimulus packages to rebuild the economy, such actions need to be carefully determined. The decisions made on how to stimulate growth and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic will determine the future health, wellbeing and stability of people and the planet …
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