The COVID-19 crisis has illustrated that anthropological exploitation of wildlife can have serious consequences on human health. It has also brought the causes for other recent pandemics to the forefront of collective thought, such as Ebola, AIDS, SARS, avian influenza, and swine flu. All originated in animals—and there is increasing evidence that humanity’s destruction of nature is one of the factors behind the spread of new diseases.
This report considers human activities that create the conditions for the development of zoonoses: infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans. It illustrates the links between humanity’s impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity and the spread of certain diseases. While many of these links are not yet fully understood, it is clear that human and planetary health are closely connected. A key message is that the chances of pathogens like viruses passing from wild and domestic animals to humans may be increased by the destruction and modification of natural ecosystems, the illegal or uncontrolled trade of wild species, and the unhygienic conditions under which wild and domestic species are mixed and marketed. Human behaviour and demographic factors significantly increase these risks, and the speed with which humans travel between continents can cause the runaway spread of pandemics.
Therefore, to strengthen protection in the future, the report recommends several actions and measures, including cracking down on illegal wildlife trade and closing unregulated wildlife markets, as well as preserving intact ecosystems and restoring the health of those that have been degraded.