Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
Atiya Munawer
Since the onset of the COVID- 19 pandemic, a new unprecedented situation has arisen many new challenges including social, health, sustainability and world economic issues. COVID -19 is a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus II, first identified in Wuhan city of China on December 19, 2021 and until now this virus has reached its sparks to 218 countries and killed 3.9 million people across the world. It magnifies the everlasting impacts of inequality, batting the poor the hardest. Periods of fortified unemployment, global shortage critical medical and personal protective equipment including masks, protection sheets, gloves and medicines further afloat economies resilience by foster sustainable economic systems- low- carbon investment and green infrastructure planning. The G7 and G 20 ensure to finance least developed and developing countries in flattening the pandemic curve along with the extreme focus on sustainable resource development, climate change mitigation measures and fair economies.
Up till now 25% of plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction, therefore, countries should consider biodiversity in their COVID19 response and economic recovery plans because land use changes and wildlife exploitation increase the risk of many diseases by bringing humans and domestic animals closer to pathogens and disrupting disease-sustaining ecological processes.
The economy and human well-being depend on food, clean water, flood protection, erosion control, the drive for innovation, and more. More than half of the world’s national production relies heavily on moderate biodiversity. Thus, decline in biodiversity poses a major threat to society. As part of the policy to respond to COVID19, investing in biodiversity can help mitigate these risks while creating jobs and economic incentives.
Although government and business leaders have recognized the importance of green recovery, and their focus is now on climate change. As part of the restoration and environmental protection system, they should talk to each other. Many countries have taken comprehensive measures to protect biodiversity in response to their COVID19 policies. Examples of biodiversity measures include changes to regulations on the wildlife trade to protect human health, and employment programs focused on ecosystem restoration, sustainable forest management, and control of invasive species.
Analysts suggest that the amount of potentially harmful costs incurred as part of the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis far outweighs the benefits to biodiversity. Governments should take the necessary steps to integrate biodiversity policies into COVID-19 recovery projects, ensure that COVID-19 economic recovery measures support biodiversity without jeopardizing it, maintain regulation, and reduce land use. , wildlife, wildlife trade and pollution and attach the environmental condition to the bailout to improve stability, screen and monitor stimulus measures of their biodiversity effects due to plastic pollution and now due to mask pollution in seas or Covid- 19 poor disposal of protection equipment. In order to combat such drastic conditions, large investments should be made in the conservation, sustainable use and restoration of biodiversity.
There is no socio-economic development in the current global panorama. These problems and challenges directly affect human psychology, leading to the loss of psychological stability and the escalation of the financial crisis. Especially, because people are threatened by so many threats, there are more and more cases of mental crisis because people are locked at home and told to be As a result of people being told to confine themselves to their homes and maintain self-loneliness, someone is more likely to be severely affected psychologically, further affected by a lack of proper guidance or treatment.
When no resources are provided to manage the well-being of the people, the situation becomes profitable and affects mental health. Regarding the effects on sustainable psychology, the importance of better mental health should be discussed as it affects individual development and counters limit personal activities.
We have had many epidemics in the past. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS outbreak) has hit Asian countries, and West Africa has also been infected with the Ebola virus. They also affected the socio-economic balance, affected public health, and caused numerous similar deaths to what we are experiencing with COVID-19 but the new thing now is that Coronavirus affected us mentally, physically and well-being of the ecosystem with its drawbacks of limiting resources by humans while staying at homes due to partial or national lockdown where they put a burden on economy and ecosystem by overconsumption of natural resources instead at the same time human enclosure at homes give a chance to ecosystem for its resource restoration, replenishing disastrous effects caused by anthropogenic activities like decline in air pollution, soil erosion, mineral leaching, hunting, poaching and wildlife trade.
Humans are deteriorating the habitat of wild animals and the normal cycle of pathogens and their hosts. In such situations, we are becoming more and more prone to new diseases. Human pathogens such as the coronavirus are not fully understood to date and several other strains or wildlife as host of this virus (and many other viruses and bacteria) in nature that could be a matter of global health in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic is calling into question our ongoing efforts to improve the Earth’s environment. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is even more important now. Emphasis should be placed on the adoption of strict wildlife trade regulations and comprehensive measures to protect the natural environment. Most importantly, consider comprehensive ways to improve our relationship with the environment that will lead us to sustainability. Agricultural stability and reduction of dependence on animal products is one such example.
There is no doubt in saying that there are some important lessons to learn from COVID-19. It is about our survival, preparedness and responsibility against nature that will lead to the control of future epidemics. Shutdowns are proving to be viable not only in breaking the chain of infection but also in the healing of the ecosystem. Air and water pollution levels have dropped in many parts of the world and nature has begun to regenerate. The important thing is that what we as human beings learn from it. Will we reduce greenhouse gas emissions evenly, will unnecessary travel be curtailed, will we allow the reduction of pollutants in the ecosystem to let nature breathe, and will we promote and adopt sustainable agricultural practices? And stop disturbing wild habitats? Most importantly, will all stakeholders, including governments, organizations and individuals, unite to fight the epidemic that has been going on for decades and resulting in loss of life and biodiversity? There will be a decrease sooner or later, the deadly coronavirus, and one of the most explosive epidemics of the century will be tackled through vaccines or other means through united efforts across borders of countries and continents. But this is not the first novel pathogen that has targeted us, nor the last. There is a need for a fresh perspective to address some of the key issues we have learned from this pandemic. Therefore, humanity must work together to stop the root causes of these pandemics. The way to deal with such pandemics in advance is to make every effort to achieve the goals of environmental sustainability.
