Poorly managed ecosystems linked to disease transmission in Pakistan

We need to strategise how we can keep the carbon emissions as low as possible says McPhillips

ISLAMABAD:

As the world grapples with the novel coronavirus pandemic, experts have pointed out a correlation between the sustainable management of natural resources and the spread of communicable diseases.

This was discussed as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) hosted a webinar on novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and its relationship with nature – ‘Build Back Better’. The webinar highlighted the challenges and criticality in sustainable natural resource management along with the opportunities and way forward for effective, sustainable development in Pakistan.

UNESCO Representative to Pakistan Patricia McPhillips said that scientists have warned of the link between the mismanagement of biodiversity and ecosystems and the transmission of infectious diseases, including risks of a pandemic.

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On the sustainability argument, she said that globally, there has been a call for transforming and developing alternatives to current environmental practices which are destroying the living fabric of the planet, creating unacceptable inequalities, and threatening our common future.

The lockdown for the last few months, she said, has dramatically shown impacts of alteration in some of those behaviours on the environment. As an example, the carbon dioxide levels have fallen significantly while flora and fauna have bloomed.

But, McPhillips said, these gains were short-lived because businesses and industries are now reopening.

“We need to strategise how we can keep the carbon emissions as low as possible,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2020.