Jakarta: The latest expert report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) establishes the links between biodiversity loss and the increase in pandemic risk factors.
This scientific report highlights that the current covid-19 crisis, which it has its origins in microbes carried by animals, and the previous global health pandemics all have one thing in common: their emergence is entirely driven by human activities.
Released on October 29, the report is the result of a virtual workshop between 22 leading experts who agree that escaping the era of pandemics is possible, but that this will require a seismic shift in approach from reaction to prevention.
"There is no great mystery about the cause of the covid-19 pandemic – or of any modern pandemic," said Dr. Peter Daszak, President of EcoHealth Alliance and Chair of the IPBES workshop, in a media release issued on Thursday.
"The same human activities that drive climate change and biodiversity loss also drive pandemic risk through their impacts on our environment. Changes in the way we use land; the expansion and intensification of agriculture; and unsustainable trade, production and consumption disrupt nature and increase contact between wildlife, livestock, pathogens and people. This is the path to pandemics," he stated.
The report warns that future pandemics will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, do more damage to the world economy and kill more people than covid-19 unless there is a transformative change in the global approach to dealing with infectious diseases, from reaction to prevention.
The experts estimate that the cost of risk reduction to prevent pandemics is 100 times less than the cost of responding to such pandemics.
This will require a deep reassessment and transformation of the relationship between humans and nature, and of the unsustainable consumption practices leading to biodiversity loss, climate change and the emergence of pandemics.
The experts recommend the establishment of a new intergovernmental partnership on health and trade, and the creation of a high-level intergovernmental council on pandemic prevention.
They also stress the importance of valuing the commitment and knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities.
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