“The conversion of nature for production is winning the race, and conservationists are trying to beat the clock. It’s becoming one giant race to get to first place.”
– Kristine Tompkins, Cofounder and President, Tompkins Conservation
Introduction
While the Covid-19 Pandemic continues, it is important to take a step back and reflect on the conditions that could have influenced a health crisis of this magnitude. It is true that people never really know when to expect a health crisis, however it will always be a matter of when, not if. As people have seen with the recent Covid-19 Pandemic, a lot of factors went into its progressive development. This health crisis has changed how people have lived their lives over the past year and the future is still uncertain. When it comes to these types of events, human habits and interactions with the environment have historically increased the risk of new diseases.
Overpopulation
Compared to the time when the Black Plague was raging in Europe, the population of the Earth has dramatically increased over the years. According to Worldometer, which keeps up to date information about the population, the current population of the world is about 7.9 billion people. Throughout history, the predicted population for each year has also increased. With such a large population, there is a lot of pressure to make necessities, such as land and food, available. It requires the need for more forced labor and farming to increase as well. With these types of human and animal interaction, there have been major health-related consequences.
Wildlife and Their Environment
When looking at diseases, a portion of them stem from wildlife. For example, Lyme disease is one that stems from the black-legged ticks that transmit the disease from animals to humans. It has been discussed how the choices people have made about the environment have influenced when a spike of cases rise. Jim Robbins wrote an article for the New York Times that discusses how lyme disease is, “Very much a product of human changes to the environment: the reduction and fragmentation of large contiguous forests” (Robbins). In this particular situation, he continues to state how these types of actions led to a decrease in predators in those particular areas. With the lack of predators, certain species thrived and grew in population. As a result, the population of animal hosts that ticks could latch on to increased as well. This example demonstrates the domino effect that deforestation has had on cases like the spread of Lyme disease.
Over the years, humans have progressively interacted with the environment more; some for the better while others have been for the worst. For example, with the Malaria disease in Italy, there were a few changes that greatly impacted the environment. According to an excerpt from the Human Organization, the author states how, “severe deforestation of the inland hills region (Marghine, Monet Ferru, Sarcidano) resulted in poor water control and an increase in swamplands on the Campidano plain. Second, state-run plantations were created in the lowlands, using imported slave labor from the eastern Mediterranean and North Africa who probably brought the disease to the island” (Brown, Whitaker). With changes to the land, humans were unaware at the time how this influenced the breeding ground for malaria. In addition, the increase of forced labor to develop agriculture in Italy greatly impacted the spread of diseases as well. Transportation, from one region to another, is a way that new diseases can be introduced.
Climate Change
Besides investigating the agricultural affect, other environmental impacts, caused by humans, can be included as well. For example, with the malaria disease, one reason that has influenced how often malaria reemerges is temperature. In an excerpt of The Quarterly Review of Biology, it is described how the “development of Plasmodium falciparum in the mosquito host takes approximately 9-10 days at a temperature of 28 [degrees] C, while development ceases when temperatures drop below 16 [degrees] C (Macdonald 1953)” (Chaves and Constantianus). With the rising temperatures, as a result of climate change, the parasite is able to develop since it is in the environment it requires. In addition to temperature, humidity is another aspect that impacts the spread of malaria. As the temperature rises, the change directly impacts the type of humidity that certain areas will experience. Since “Humidity determines the lifespan of the mosquito,”(Chaves and Constantianus), it should be anticipated how this will impact the spread of the disease. The breeding ground for mosquitoes requires certain characteristics and, with these factors in place, the environment is in good condition for the population to thrive. It has been proven how greenhouse gases have greatly impacted the world’s temperature and it is directly related to people’s carbon footprint. As a result, humans have created places around the world with the type of environment that mosquito populations need in order to survive and grow.
Covid-19
“Bats are not the bad guys. Really, they provide a myriad of ecosystem services that no other species can provide. I like to think of them more like the canary in the mine that alerts us to problems in the environment.”
– Raina Plowright, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University
With the current Covid-19 Pandemic, the general understanding is that it originated from bats and was transferred to humans. Over time, people have interfered with the environment and the species that live in it. It has reached a point that according to a BBC News Article, “Scientists estimate that three out of every four new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals. A warning of the dangers came in 2002, when the mysterious illness, Sars, emerged in China, killing almost 800 people around the world” (Briggs). This article also goes on to discuss how bat conservation has decreased since the start of the Pandemic. While the virus was caused by the transfer of a virus from animal to human, it is important to recognize how that was possible. As stated in the article, “Outbreaks of emerging disease have been linked to human destruction of nature. When forests or grasslands are razed to graze cattle, to grow soy or to build roads and settlements, wild animals are forced ever closer to humans and livestock, giving viruses an opportunity to jump ship” (Briggs). People should not blame the species for spreading the virus because they are not entirely to blame. As humans continue to expand, there are major environmental consequences. These expansions have influenced many species out of their habitats and greatly raise the chances of species, like bats, to come closer into contact with humans.
When looking at the current state of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the efforts of vaccination are in full effect. These initiatives and the hard-work of health-care workers have been extraordinary since the virus has impacted so many people. Even with the hope of an end in sight, this does not mean that a situation of this magnitude will not arise again in the future. According to an article written on CBS News, the likelihood of pandemics directly relate to how humans are currently interacting with the environment. Berardelli quotes, “‘We disrupt their [animal] ecosystems, hunt them, build houses next to them, grow livestock right next to their populations,’ said Daszak. ‘We allow the viruses they carry, that we’ve never been exposed to in our history , to emerge into our own populations.’” With issues like humans encroaching on animal habitats and destroying ecosystems, animals are forced to move to other locations. These types of behaviors will not go away unless people see how their actions affect the animal populations.
Conclusion
While the future remains unknown, another aspect that people should consider is how to better prepare for a situation like this. It is inevitable that a new disease will eventually be discovered and no one can truly predict when it will occur. In order to better prepare for the future, specialists recommend, “the One Health Initiative – a worldwide program, involving more than 600 scientists and other professionals, that advances the idea that human, animal, and ecological health are inextricably linked and need to be studied and managed” (Robbins). By studying human behavior towards the environment, people could learn to acknowledge how aspects, like agricultural developments, have impacted the world. In addition, the study of animals that are more likely to transmit diseases, like Covid-19, would help scientists predict where the next disease could come from. The interaction that people currently have with the environment is not going to change overnight, let alone anytime soon. This is why it is important for an organization, like the One Health Initiative, to work on tracking the interactions between humans, land, and animals. With better preparation ahead of time, the hope is that when the next outbreak occurs, it can be addressed quickly to avoid it growing into a pandemic scale.
Works Cited
Berardelli, Jeff. “Human Impact on the Environment May Make Pandemics More Likely, Experts Warn.” CBS News. 2 Apr. 2020, //www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus -environment-pandemic-infectious-diseases/.
Briggs, Helen. “Covid: Why Bats Are Not to Blame, Say Scientists.” BBC News, BBC, 12 Oct. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54246473.
Brown, Peter J., and Elizabeth D. Whitaker. “Health Implications of Modern Agricultural Transformations: Malaria and Pellagra in Italy.” Human Organization, vol. 53, no. 4, 1994, pp. 346–351. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44127553. Accessed 20 Apr. 2021.
“Current World Population.” Worldometer, www.worldometers.info/world-population/#:~:text=7.9%20 Billion%20(2021).
Chaves, Luis Fernando, and Constantianus J. M. Koenraadt. “Climate Change and Highland Malaria: Fresh Air For a Hot Debate.” The Quarterly Review of Biology, vol. 85, no. 1, 2010, pp. 27–55. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/650284. Accessed 20 Apr. 2021.
Dasgupta, Shouro. “Burden of Climate Change on Malaria Mortality.”Fonadzione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), 2017, www-jstor-org.unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu/stable/resrep16411.
McMillen, Christian W., Pandemics. New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 2016.
Robbins, Jim. “Man-Made Epidemics.” New York Times, 15 Jul. 2012, pp. 3. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu/docview/1705861885/686C416E02784826PQ/5?accountid=8117.
“‘We Are Nature and Nature Is Us.’” Landscape News, 17 Nov. 2020, news.globallandscapesforum.org/48134/we-are-nature-and-nature-is-us/.
