Human activity and the climate crisis are causing enormous losses in the biodiversity of our planet. According to a report published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, reducing human activities that cause biodiversity loss can significantly reduce the emergence of new pandemics.
Regarding this problem, Dr. Peter Daszak, President of the institution that issued the report, noted: “The same human activities that cause climate change and biodiversity loss are those that cause the risk of a pandemic, due to the impact on our environment”.
The space we have is shrinking and our contact with wildlife is increasing. These are necessary changes in “the way we use land, in expansion and intensification of agriculture, in trade, unsustainable production and consumption which alter nature and increase contact between wildlife, livestock, pathogens and people. This is the way of pandemics” Daszak added.
Our existence on this planet is completely dependent on our ability to protect the natural world around us. Click here to access the report “The importance of preserving our biodiversity”, published by CEMAS.