COVID 19 is causing a shockwave around the world and is now the number one concern of the international community. It is fundamental and legitimate to focus on the present of the pandemic. But we must not forget the root causes. It is also essential to think now about the post-crisis, the reconstruction phase, which should be about not only health, economic and social issues but also the environment.
In 2019, when the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services was published, it was demonstrated for the first time that human activity was responsible for the erosion of 75% of terrestrial ecosystems. Large natural ecosystems are fragmented or destroyed to make way for human economic activity that encroaches on the habitat of centuries-old species, leading to overcrowding that is detrimental to all. For example, in the case of the 2003 SARS epidemic, it was scientifically proven that the civet was the intermediate host and natural reservoir of the virus. In the case of COVID-19, nothing can yet be confirmed, but a consensus among researchers seems to revolve around the pangolin and another intermediate host, the bat, which is known to be a reservoir of the virus. A scientific article published in February in the journal BioRxiv by Zhang et al. (2020) revealed that SARS-CoV-2 shares 91.02% of its genome with strains isolated from pangolins. It should be recalled that this highly prized animal in Asia is the most poached species in the world with 100,000 individuals captured per year.
Finally, let us remember that in the case of Ebola fever, whose intermediate host is the bat, the great apes, our closest cousins, have been contaminated and populations have been decimated, sometimes by as much as 95%.
These pressures on biodiversity and its natural habitats, by bringing species closer together, favour the emergence of zoonoses such as COVID-19. It is therefore necessary to take note of these mechanisms now and to draw the consequences in order to avoid a new tragedy. More than ever, we need to rethink our link with nature.
For nearly 50 years, UNESCO, through its Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, has been at the forefront and has been promoting the need to ensure that human activities do not harm nature and that they are interconnected in a way that is not only neutral but positive. Biosphere reserves play a key role in this respect.
Biosphere reserves are laboratories of harmonious interaction between people and nature, allowing for advances in the sciences and in traditional knowledge. They facilitate the sharing of knowledge, promote the interaction between science and society and help bring concrete improvements to the lives of local populations
Ms. Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, talks on how we can assist countries in this economic, social and environmental reconstruction:
The project BIOsphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT) provides some possible solutions. This project promotes the safeguarding of Lake Chad and the sustainable management of natural resources in favour of peace and the development of communities, especially women, youth and indigenous peoples.
Within this framework, UNESCO is mobilized with these Lake Chad communities, which are among the poorest on the planet, and applies the principles of the MAB Programme in the implementation of income-generating activities (IGAs) based on green economy. These activities are now helping to mitigate the expected socio-economic impacts of the crisis linked to COVID 19.
In Niger, these IGAs strengthen the socio-economic resilience of nearly 30,000 people, including 13,000 women.
Lake Chad and its basin are the economic and ecological lungs for more than 45 million women, men and children. Shared between Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, Central African Republic and Chad, the area abounds with exceptional biodiversity symbolized by the presence of biosphere reserves, World Heritage sites and wetlands of international importance (Ramsar sites).
The region is the cradle of a thousand-year-old civilization and a formidable unifying element between the communities of North Africa and the ones just south of the Sahara. It has always been a place where cultures have converged and intermingled.
Over the last four decades, the surface area of Lake Chad has decreased considerably. It decreased by more than 90% between 1960 and 1985 due to the drop in rainfall, l which has not been compensated by the rising water levels observed since the 2000s. This has led to significant imbalances and a weakening of the ecosystems.
The region faces other environmental challenges such as biodiversity conservation, deforestation, drought, desertification and land degradation. In addition to this environmental crisis, there is a security and humanitarian crisis marked by the rise of violent extremism and significant population migration.
In response to this situation, UNESCO and the Lake Chad Basin Commission have joined forces to implement the BIOPALT project with funding from the African Development Bank through ADF funds. This project was launched in 2018 for a period of three years. Income-generating activities based on green economies in Niger are implemented in partnership with the UNDP Small Grants Programme.
IndiaEducationDiary ,2020