HOW COVID-19 CALLS TO QUESTION OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE
- Irvine Atlas Publication
- Jul 31, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 2, 2020
By: Marisa Hensey, Alicia Marley & Chloe Ogg
Edited by Ellie Bouton, Aleksandra Dragan, and Rebekah Kaufman
The emergence of a global pandemic is being described as a ‘wake-up call’ for humanity; “the world will not be the same after COVID-19” [1] is a somewhat apocalyptic phrase echoing across contemporary news outlets. Given that the most recent strand of coronavirus has highlighted humanity’s dysfunctional relationship with nature perhaps we should seek to create a new ‘normality’.
Pandemic of Nature Exploitation:
Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transferred between animals and humans. As the world has become increasingly interconnected and populations have soared, the risks of exposure to new, potentially deadly, pathogens have increased. A symptom of the ‘Anthropocene’ is an accelerated rate of environmental destruction: between 1980-2000 over 100 million hectares of tropical forest were felled and 85% of wetlands have been destroyed since the industrial revolution [1].
Similarly, the capturing, selling and consumption of certain animals amplify human exposure to zoonoses. Approximately 60% of infectious diseases originate from animals – AIDS was contracted from chimpanzees and our most recent threat, COVID-19, has its suspected origins among bat species [2]. For these reasons, many experts believe the COVID-19 pandemic was the inevitable result of an interconnected world dominated by a neoliberalist economic system. Unless this system is adjusted to include and promote the protection of biodiversity, future pandemics are inevitable. Moving forward, biodiversity must be valued more highly than short-term monetary gains.
Climate Change:
The pandemic of nature exploitation is a symptom of the much larger illness our blue planet is experiencing: climate change. For some time, scientists have been aware that warmer, wetter conditions create environments more favourable to infectious diseases such as Lyme disease [3]. As global temperatures continue to rise, epidemics and pandemics will be more likely.
During lockdown conditions, emissions have considerably reduced, bringing clean air, blue skies and clear waters across many parts of the globe. In a wider context, the before and after reduced lockdown emissions at India Gate displayed in Figure 1 illustrate how tackling air pollution and climate change is possible. To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented 2.6 billion metric tons of CO2 being emitted [4]. Energy usage has decreased because of economic slowdown, affording nature a temporary reprieve and time to ‘breathe’.
Moreover, reduced emissions during lockdowns may have also saved thousands of lives, as air pollution is believed to increase mortality rates from COVID-19. Tackling the pandemic of environmental destruction and climate change is therefore not only a moral responsibility but also imperative to human health.
The Future: Hope or Uncertainty?
Lockdown conditions have changed our relationship with the environment by slowing transportation and movement. People have sought freedom in nature and arguably gained a greater appreciation for the great outdoors. Many cities in South Korea, France and Italy, are using reduced car traffic as an opportunity to modify roads and accommodate greener forms of transport such as bicycles. However, it is necessary to sustain this momentum if we are to develop an improved relationship with nature and for a new normality is to be established.
To meet the 1.5˚C target set by the IPCC, the downward trend in energy usage displayed during the pandemic needs to continue every year from now until 2050 [5]. This is arguably an unrealistic feat unless there is a greater political will for change. Unlike COVID-19, there will be no vaccine for environmental destruction and climate change; to tackle such large, complex, and interconnected problems, collective action is required. This coronavirus pandemic has shown that the world can collaborate successfully but also how crises are abstract and intangible to those it does not directly impact. If we are to change the nature versus culture narrative it is the duty of the privileged to instigate and maintain collective action.
References:
[1] Grandcolas, P. and Justine, J., 2020. Covid-19 Or The Pandemic Of Mistreated Biodiversity. The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/covid-19-or-the-pandemic-of-mistreated-biodiversity-136447. [2] Quinney, M., 2020. COVID-19 And Nature Are Linked. So Should Be The Recovery.. World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-nature-deforestation-recovery/. [3] Coronavirus, Climate Change, and the Environment: A Conversation on COVID-19 with Dr. Aaron Bernstein, Director of Harvard C-CHANGE (2020) Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Available at: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2020 [4] Lombrana, L. M. and Warren, H. (2020) A Pandemic That Cleared Skies and Halted Cities Isn’t Slowing Global Warming, Bloomberg Green. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-how-coronavirus-impacts-climate-change/ [5] McGrath, M. (2020) Climate change and coronavirus: Five charts about the biggest carbon crash, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52485712
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