This pandemic may not help heal the environment much

Context: Global environmental optimism (in terms of improved air, water quality, and reduced carbon emission) because of Covid-19 Pandemic followed by global lockdown will be short lived if green reconstruction path is not followed post pandemic era.

Lessons learnt from COVID-19

• Re-wild Habitats: less human intervention in habitat of other living beings and strict control on wildlife trade.
• General standards of hygiene: it should be greatly enhanced for any area that could potentially transfer bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic zoonoses.
• Disease prevention protocols:  need to be popularized in endemic areas.
• Avoid interfering wildlife habitats and Re-wild as many habitats as possible.

Why Pandemic induced Global Environmental Optimism could be short-lived

• Shortage of people monitoring wildlife parks, illegal deforestation, and poaching

• Funding squeeze:  Travel restrictions are depriving parks of sufficient funds and may undermine wildlife conversation and biodiversity initiatives. 
• Governments have begun to relax environmental standards to get on with the job of reconstruction.

Way Forward

• Governments can opt for a green reconstruction path that include decarbonize economies, acceleration of electric mobility, faster reduction in greenhouse emissions from power generation, early adoption of green building codes for office and residential real estate.
• Individuals can elect to reduce their material consumption and wastage of food, and soften their environmental footprint.

Quote: “For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; now he is beginning to realize that in order to survive, he must protect it” - Jacques-Yves Cousteau