The wildfire spread of COVID-19 has put tens of millions of people at risk of falling into extreme poverty. Undernourished people have increased by up to 132 million and millions in the global workforce are at the risk of losing their livelihoods. A report by the United Nations Environment Programme and The International Livestock Research Institute tells us that 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic.
As we observe World Zoonoses Day in July 2022, it is important to understand that every individual should become part of conservation efforts and minimise pressure on natural resources and control the emergence of zoonotic diseases. World Zoonoses Day commemorates Louis Pasteur, the French biologist who, on July 6, 1885, successfully administered the first-ever Rabies vaccine to a patient named Joseph Meister.
A zoonotic disease is an infectious disease that is transmitted between species from animals to humans or for that matter, from humans to animals. COVID-19 is one of them, but it is not the first to play havoc on our planet. According to the World Health Organisation(WHO) zoonoses or zoonotic diseases are defined as those diseases and infections naturally transmitted between people and vertebrate animals. A research titled Global Trends in Emerging Infectious Diseases reports the emergence of 355 infectious diseases across the global human population, between 1940 and 2004.
The world’s population is projected to reach approximately 10.9 billion by 2100. This population growth definitely calls for more housing, food and water needs. In order to meet essential needs, the natural environment and wildlife will be further decimated leading to an increase in emerging zoonoses diseases.
At the Ecopreneur, we are already working at the solution. It is absolutely possible. A study by the University of Chicago and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact finds that feeding 10 billion people on Earth is possible and that too in a sustainable manner. One way to achieve it is by “rethinking global agriculture and our current behaviour”, says the study.
“Implementing better farm water management and using irrigation in a better way, by redistributing current fertiliser applications and cropland patterns, we can substantially boost agricultural production”, points out Jägermeyr, a researcher in this study.
In addition to that, consumer behavioural change is inevitable. As Gayle Sloan, CEO of the Waste Management and Resource Association of Australia points out “mindful consumption” is to be practised. Let’s make that commitment in July 2022.
At The Ecopreneur, we are committed to spread the stories of green recovery solutions and catalyse actions for environmental conservation to prevent zoonotic diseases.
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