Resurgence of nature due to COVID-19: reality or myth?

Shilpa Roy

It has been all over the media for months now that “Nature has hit the reset button”, “Nature is healing” and it may seem to all that COVID-19 has led to a resurgence of nature, but is the picture really so rosy? We know that pollution levels have decreased and carbon emissions have sharply fallen during lockdown but will these changes be actually a boon for the environment? While the human toll mounted from a single case in Wuhan to a global pandemic, humans were forced to stay indoors; nature seemed like making a comeback. It was like a glimpse of what the world might look like without fossil fuels. Pollution in New York have reduced by nearly 50% because of measures to contain the virus, in China emissions fell by 25%, in Europe satellite images showed that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions fading away over northern Italy.

A similar scenario prevails in France, Spain and UK. There’s clear water all over Venice, blue skies over Delhi, Himalayas seen from Punjab and animals are roaming freely in this lockdown, but the grim reality still remains is that these radical changes are not going to be permanent. If we turn the pages of History we will see that when emissions have fallen sharply after a pandemic or recession, there is often a rocketing rebound of emissions that leads to devastated consequences. This is an ephemeral healing moment for nature as emissions will rise higher than the previous levels when economic activities gain momentum. Gina McCarthy, former head of the US Environmental Protection Agency said that “This isn’t the way we would’ve wanted things to happen. This just a disaster pointing out the underlying challenges we face. It is not something to celebrate”.

Impact on waste

Volumes of unrecyclable waste have risen, severe losses in agriculture as well as fisheries have led to the generation of huge quantities of organic waste, local waste problems have emerged and the less reported has been the dramatic rise in medical waste and packaging from online shopping. Amazon’s sales have increased to the point that they announced they need to hire 100,000 new employees to meet the demand.

With the citizens afraid to leave the house there has been a surge in demand for online shopping. The huge demand for disposable medical products such as single use gloves, surgical masks and empty IV bags in the wake of the pandemic has created huge deluge of medical waste. In Wuhan, the volume of medical waste is reported to have risen from 40 to 240 tons a day. As this waste is left to decay, levels of methane emissions, a greenhouse gas from decaying produce are expected to rise sharply in the crisis and immediate post-lockdown months. There is insurmountable surge in solid medical waste and this is not only an environmental issue, but it puts the life workers employed for waste collection and disposal at risk.

Ecosystem at risk

The natural ecosystem and wildlife are at risk during the coronavirus pandemic. The environmental protection workers in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are required to stay at home during lockdown, leaving this areas unmonitored which paves the ways for illegal poachers. The rhino killing in Kaziranga National Park, Assam amidst the nationwide lockdown, the increase in the poaching of wild jaguars and pumas in Columbia and endangered species in countries across Asia and Africa are glaring examples of how wildlife is in threat. WWF is concerned about the effect of removal of surveillance measures on many important fish stocks. The deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rose to 30% in March. The climate crisis has been ticking around and certain steps taken by the authorities are putting biodiversity at higher risk. We are all aware of the coal mining approval in Dihing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam by the Indian Government, even the Berejiklian government in New South Wales has approved coal mining under one of the Greater Sydney’s reservoirs.

A new future

Most of the environmental impacts of the coronavirus pandemic such as a decline in carbon emission and an increase in medical waste will be temporary. The real lesson lies in how the pre-existing climate-friendly trends can be revived back. Despite a temporary decline in global carbon emissions, the International Energy Agency warned that the economic loss fueled by coronavirus may prevent companies and other stakeholders from investing in the “Go Green” policy. There may be a considerable decrease in public transport due to fear of contagion and reliance on individual cars, which will significantly increase the pollution levels.

However, joined efforts can bear fruitful. The companies can reduce business travel as video conferencing can achieve the same result, people rather than spending time away from family during vacations and traveling can prioritize the health and well being of the family and choose to stay at home. Times of change can lead to the introduction of lasting habits. During this pandemic, traveling less, cutting down on food waste and luxuries can go a long way. Meanwhile, global conferences like the Cop26 UN have been postponed, Greta Thunberg has urged for digital activism in place of physical protests. UN leaders, scientists, and activists are stretching on green jobs and clean energy. The pandemic has demonstrated the deadly consequences of ignoring expert warnings; it has also shown how pollution lowers our resistance to diseases.

As the UN’s environment chief, Inger Andersen puts it: “Nature is sending us a message that if we neglect the planet, we put our survival at risk”. Since the beginning of the pandemic we have witnessed how things changed, this would perhaps be the outcome had the environmental policies been put in place since the first Earth Day in 1970, where 20 million Americans rallied in support of anti-pollution measures. If we return to pre-pandemic lifestyle, oblivious to what harm we are doing to nature, we should brace ourselves for another pandemic. The challenges posed by COVID-19 are huge but they will soon pass, but let us pledge to not return to our pre-pandemic ways of life and re-chart our course.

To quote Thomas Lovejoy, an ecologist: “We bulldoze into the last remaining places in nature and then are surprised when something like this happens. We have done this to ourselves by our continual intrusion into nature”. We shouldn’t have waited for a crisis like this to teach us how to nurture and love Mother Nature. So on this World Environment Day, let us make this celebration of nature’s healing a long lasting one rather than temporary.

About the author: SHILPA ROY is from Guwahati who has completed Masters in Law (Criminology) and is a lawyer and an amateur writer. Contact: Email: shilparoy11291@gmail.com

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