I know about the Glacial-inter glacial Cycles and rumours of a Planet Depolarization Theory and the local and global impact which can be seen from the space, although other issues are inflicting with our daily life absent of natural disasters fated to occur.
A lot of us live in a cushy dorm unnoticed of the reality out there that animals are suffering more than never amid 21st century where information could have been used a bit better.
We accumulated so much data and developed incredible technologies but for what purpose if wildlife loss has increased and habitat is almost inexistent?
The majority part of my day as an arborist is climbing trees to look after the urban forest. Trees, most of the times, are planted to provide essentials for the city growth and people’s leisure.
Although even more, I have been worrying if it’s about time to start creating more hollows, planting more diversified species and inviting wildlife into reserves and parks. All these to satisfy our hunger of saving the Planet. It sounds extreme but must be, don’t you think?
. . .
Undeniably by reading several articles published in the last 3 months, human life is threatened by a spotlighted tragedy of wildlife trade and habitat destruction. We all know that many of recent history’s deadliest diseases are spread to humans from wildlife.
Look at COVID-19: a zoonotic disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that came from an animal or animals. “It is not the first novel coronavirus to infect humans — it’s the seventh”, says the Center for Biological Diversity website.
It is clear and you can realise without any help that the numerous reasons for the exponential growth of global pandemics — at least the most frequently cited — “include expansion of the human population, destabilisation of ecosystems and globalisation”, written in a research paper called “Understanding the emerging coronavirus: what it means for health security and infection prevention”.
Changes in land use and climate change have a significant effect on how these diseases spread due to the impact of human actions.
One of the possible solutions to halt once for all this extreme cajole towards the environment is to end this insatiable demand for the world’s wildlife.
According to the website Biological Diversity, “that means ending the commercial wildlife trade, halting illegal wildlife trade and providing alternative livelihoods for those who depend on wildlife and resource extraction”.
As easy as it sounds, we have a few pinpoints to clarify. Unfortunately, this wildlife trade contributes to a massive lobbying all around the world and generate between US$7.8 and US$10 billion annually, affecting one in four mammal and bird species globally.
To quantify even more this disgrace, exotic species have been driven out by deforestation and other forms of land conversion from their evolutionary niches and into man-made environments, where according to the scientists, they interact and breed new strains of diseases.
Homes, sheds and barns are classic examples of a result of natural habitats shrink that wildlife has to concentrate and migrate to anthropogenic areas, giving conditions for the proliferation of a new virus concerning habitat destruction.
According to Richard Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, “we are messing with natural systems in certain ways that can make them much more dangerous than they would otherwise be” and also “biodiversity loss is one of those. Climate change is another”.
Above all, these massively destructive actions toward the environment and negligence on what to do next contribute undoubtedly to the loss of nature and mainly our well-being.
If we enjoy being around nature, watching birds in our backyard, taking the dog for a walk in the park and take hikes around the National Park, we have to think now that our future is compromised. Or more likely next generation’s future, which it could be your child or mine that in the end, it must be attended with open eyes and a mouth full of eager to say this is enough.
. . .
References:
- A. Petersa, P. Vetterb, C. Guitarta, N. Lotfinejadc, D. Pittet. 2020. “Understanding the emerging coronavirus: what itmeans for health security and infection prevention”. Journal of Hospital Infection 104 (2020): 440–448
- Center for Biological Diversity [https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/wildlife-exploitation-and-pandemic-risk/index.html].
- J. Watts. 2020. ‘Promiscuous treatment of nature’ will lead to more pandemics — scientists. [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/07/promiscuous-treatment-of-nature-will-lead-to-more-pandemics-scientists]. Accessed 7 May 2020.
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This post was previously published on Greener Together.
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