Pandemic and Environment

Pandemic and Environment
Fecha de publicación: 
3 May 2020
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In order to keep the profits of the most powerful, some governments have not only committed the irresponsibility of raising the barriers of the necessary quarantine, but they have even relaxed their policies for protecting the environment, claiming that it has improved with the restriction policy before the pandemic of COVID-19.

Given the seriousness of the situation, the United Nations rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David Boyd, said that such actions are "irrational, irresponsible and endanger the rights of vulnerable people."

Deforestation, industrial agriculture, illegal wildlife trade, and climate change increase the risk of future pandemics, and the suspension of environmental monitoring requirements, decreases the application of ecological norms and limit public participation.

Such irresponsibilities do not only come from governments like the United States, whose president doesn’t care a bit about human life, especially if it’s the lives of those who oppose him, but from "idiots" from Europe, including Germany, Spain, and Scandinavians.

Therefore, is not only violated the right to life, but also against health, water, culture, food and to grow in a healthy environment.

As scientific evidence demonstrate, people living in areas with higher levels of air pollution suffer a greater risk of premature death from COVID-19, so access to running clean water is essential to prevent people from acquiring and spreading the virus.

WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED

All of the above shows that one of the lessons learned in the current situation is that a clean, healthy, and safe environment must be preserved, so all of the above mentioned must be developed in a sustainable way.

Likewise, three quarters of emerging infectious diseases are caused by "zoonosis", that is, they are transmitted from wild animals or pets to humans, such as Ebola, SARS, and MERS, although in not confirmed yet if this occurs with COVID-19.

Scientists warn us, and we must highlighted it, that deforestation, industrial agriculture, illegal wildlife trade, climate change and other types of environmental degradation increase the risk of future pandemics, raising the chances of serious human rights violations.

Thus, under the pretext of avoiding the fall of economy and that there’s some improvement in the situation, something with no real basis, these developed governments, followed by others from poor nations and with docile regimes, are using a narrow-minded policy of weakening or interrupting environmental regulations that will only help to worsen the situation.

Amilkal Labañino / Cubasi Translation Staff

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