The International Organization for Nature Conservation warns a new animal-borne pandemic appears

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (WWF) calls for an urgent global action to address issues that it identifies as a core cause of a zoonotic pandemic. Future.

In a newly released report titled  'Covid-19: an urgent call to protect people and nature' , WWF determined that environmental factors that promote the emergence of diseases stem from animals include: trading and consumption of high-risk wildlife species, changing land-use purposes leading to deforestation and land conversion, agricultural expansion, unsustainable intensification and breed.

Many scientists and world-class leaders in the World Economic Forum (WEF) have warned of the risk of a global pandemic. The WEF ranks pandemics and infectious diseases as the biggest threats globally in the last decade, posing 'an urgent threat to human life'.

WWW warns that a new pandemic will appear if people do not take timely action. (Source: BBC).

Marco Lambertini - General Director of WWF International said: 'We need to urgently acknowledge the connection between natural destruction and human health, otherwise we will soon experience a subsequent pandemic. . We must stop wildlife trade and consumption, prevent deforestation and convert forest land use, and sustainably produce food. All of these actions will help prevent pathogens from entering humans, while addressing global risks to our society, such as biodiversity loss and climate change. There is nothing to argue, the scientific evidence is clear, we need to rely on nature and not against nature. Unsustainable exploitation of nature has become a major threat to us all. '

The origin of Covid-19 is still open to question, but the available evidence suggests that it is a zoonotic disease, meaning it originates from wildlife and is transmitted to its offspring. people. The Chinese government issued a comprehensive ban on wildlife consumption on February 24.

WWF fully supports this ban, and the Chinese National Assembly is currently supporting amendments to the current laws on wildlife protection. If fully enforced, China's Wildlife Protection Law will be one of the most powerful and strict laws in the world. Other governments need to take similarly strong actions and close high-risk wildlife markets, putting an end to this trade.

However, addressing the trade and consumption of high-risk wildlife in isolation cannot prevent the next pandemic - our global unsustainable food production system. taking away natural spaces on a large scale, fragmented natural ecosystems and increasing interactions between wildlife, domestic animals and humans.

Since 1990, about 178 million hectares of forests have been cleared, the equivalent of Libya, the 18th largest country in the world. Every year, about 10 million hectares of forests continue to be lost due to conversion of agricultural land and other land use purposes. A tragedy is also taking place in Brazil when a wave of deforestation is rising due to the federal government cutting law enforcement. This reduction occurred after the deforestation rate in April increased by 64% compared to two years ago.

The Covid-19 Crisis suggests that systematic changes are needed to address the environmental causes of pandemics. WWF supports the 'One Health' approach which emphasizes the link between human health, animals and the environment for both and wants this approach to be considered in decisions about wildlife. and land use change, in all business and financial decisions, especially when it comes to global health.

Lambertini continued: 'In the tragedy, we see an opportunity to mend our relationship with nature and minimize the risk of future pandemics. But a good future must start from the decisions of governments, businesses and people today. Global leaders must act urgently to change our relationship with the natural world. We need a new Agreement on Nature and People that aims to restore nature by 2030 and ensure the health and livelihoods of people in the long term. '

WWF highlighted the United Nations Biodiversity Summit, scheduled for September 2020, to be an important time for world leaders to advance action on nature, to take Important environmental, climate and development decisions are now made in 2021. We cannot lose this vital opportunity to change our relationship with nature and ensure a Sustainable future for people and this planet.