ECOLOGICAL BALANCE AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC
BY: Haider Shafi
The sudden thaw that has occurred due to the outbreak of the virus, has led to closure of all global institutions, business transactions, holiday celebrations and shutting of all public places. This is a revival of nature and natural processes where nature is claiming its genuine position that was has been held hostage by man’s continued alterations of nature and glorification in the name of development and technological bless.
The complex nature-human paradigm is back in the public discourse and indeed nature has a larger say in it. It is assumed that post –pandemic, it is going to be interesting to watch how the new paradigm of nature and human civilization structures itself. It also signifies the fact that nature has to be at the centre of any discourse if human civilization is going to exist. It has to exist in conformity with nature and it cannot afford to do away with it.
Regardless of its cause and origin, the emergence of the Covid-19 has underscored that mutually-effective relationship between humans and the nature. Now we must try to understand and appreciate the limit to which humans can push the nature. Those limits must be entertained by our consumption and production aspirations.
Corona pandemic may have positive effects on the maximum ecological balance, but only for a short run. It was seen when the lockdown started in Wuhan, there was 84 percent increase in good air quality in 33 cities of China. Case is same throughout the globe as industries, transport and businesses have closed down and brought a sudden drop in carbon emissions. Does it not lie in the same edge that post-pandemic situation can take our ecology on back seat? Or, can nature afford to sustain in the emerging trend, as limited human and nature trade-off have a greater role in the sustenance of the mechanism?
As per UNEP sustainable development goals statistics, 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood, forests are home to more than 80 percent of all the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects and over 80 percent of the people living in rural areas in developing countries rely on traditional plant based medicines for basic healthcare. So large-scale exploitation of nature can create ecological imbalance and greater existential crisis.
Though Covid-19 pandemic swiftly taught us that ignoramus nature and reaction of humans can hinder the liberty of other biodiversities, now all the stake holders should rethink and reconsider without hoax about their preferences in the near future for the sustainable existence of all the creatures. World’s biggest economies had pledged to reduce the average temperature on the planet, and global climate neutrality by 2050, as earth had already increased average temperature by more than 1 degree Celsius, and is poised to see more than 3 degree Celsius of warming by the end of this century.
For three decades (since Rio summit1992) world’s largest economies had focused outwards of the ecological crisis created by climate change, via global warming, but none of them followed that in letter and spirit. Now the time had changed as it emphasizes us to create a balance state of existence where no one’s freedom can be hindered.
Apart from all these efforts, it had been predicted that corona pandemic could halt the world emission growth and will be the largest annual contributor to reduce the emission level. The post-pandemic global order hopefully can come with a new discourse, where preference for the ecological balance and sustainable development will be the focal point of all nations and nature can be protected at its utmost position.
- The author is a blogger and student of Environmental Politics. He can be reached at [email protected]
