Global Health Asia-Pacific July 2020 July 2020 | Page 37

We create
pandemics
Far from being natural disasters, epidemics are largely the result of our own assaults on the environment
The coronavirus pandemic currently wreaking
havoc on the world fits into a larger pattern of
emerging infectious diseases that have their
beginnings in the human destruction of the natural
environment, according to leaders at three major
international organisations.
In an article submitted to The Guardian in June, the
heads of the World Wildlife �und (WW�), the World
Health Organization, and the UN Executive Secretary
on �iological Diversity wrote: �We have seen many
diseases emerge over the years — such as Zika,
Aids, Sars and Ebola — and although they are quite
different at first glance, they all originated from animal
populations under conditions of severe environmental
pressures. And they all illustrate that our destructive
behaviour towards nature is endangering our own
health — a stark reality we’ve been collectively
ignoring for decades. Research indicates that most
emerging infectious diseases are driven by human
activities.”
�ot only is our destruction of natural habitats
bringing more animals closer to human communities,
but the widespread use of unhygienic wet markets
to trade in unsafe and unregulated wildlife is creating
living laboratories for different species to pass their
viruses to other animals and then to humans.
Researchers have posited that the COVID-19
coronavirus came from bats and spread to humans
via an intermediate animal species. A seafood market
in Wuhan is thought to have played a key role in
propagating the infection of the new coronavirus at the
beginning of the epidemic in China.
According to a recent WW� report, the
transmission of infectious agents from animals to
humans is on the rise. �The frequency of zoonotic
diseases outbreak caused by a spillover of pathogens
from animal hosts to people may have more than
tripled in the last decade,” read the report. “The
diversity of these pathogens has also increased, with
the number of new zoonotic diseases infecting people
quadrupling over the same time period.”
The report also flagged food production as a main
culprit due to its heavy impact on the environment,
noting that the amount of land converted for food
and livestock production was increasing at a rapid
rate to help feed a growing global population. �ince
1990, 178 million hectares of forest have been cleared,
equivalent to the size of �ibya, the 18th largest country
in the world.
To minimise the risk of another pandemic,
governments need to strictly regulate wildlife trade
and end the massive exploitation of natural resources
caused by deforestation and intensive agricultural and
livestock practices.
�As the world emerges from this crisis, it is crucial
that governments restore ecosystems and put
economies on a sustainable path if we are to reduce
our vulnerability to health threats. We must embrace a
just, healthy and green recovery, and kickstart a wider
transformation towards a model that values nature
as the foundation for a healthy society, and a wellresourced
and equitable economy. This means shifting
to more sustainable practices, such as regenerative
and diversified agriculture and diets, sustainable
animal farming, green urban spaces and clean forms
of energy,� wrote the leaders in The Guardian.
To minimise
the risk of
another
pandemic,
governments
need to
strictly
regulate
wildlife trade
and end
the massive
exploitation
of natural
resources
caused by
deforestation
and intensive
agricultural
and livestock
practices
GlobalHealthAndTravel.com
JULY 2020
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