Global nature conservation key to reducing future epidemics

As the world struggles to contain the spread and effects of global health pandemics such as the novel Covid-19 virus (Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2), discussions about the role of nature conservation in combating health epidemics remain pivotal for projecting future their risks and outbreaks.

In a press release issued by the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Nature Safety on 2nd April 2020, Federal Environment Minister Schulze highlighted that committed conservation measures are key in preventing infectious diseases.

Although there is yet no exclusive research establishing the exact transmission route of Covid-19 from animals to humans, this link is suggested as 70 per cent of human pathogens including HIV, Ebola, influenza, MERS and SARS originate from animals. While transmission risks have been quite significant on wildlife markets where there is direct contact between people and different wildlife animals, the disruption of eco system balances equally presents a critical risk.

Sandra Junglen, principle investigator of CRC’s project B02 ‘Future Infections‘, contributed to the ministry’s release emphasizing the role of biodiversity protection in mediating the risks of infectious diseases: “The emergence of multiple diseases can be explained by human encroachment into previously untouched nature. Intensive land use, prevalence of monoculture and clearing of forests lead to biodiversity loss and change the composition of mammal populations. Biodiversity loss means that more animals of one species share the same habitat. When the ecosystem is thrown out of balance, infectious diseases can spread more easily. Biodiversity and functioning ecosystems can help prevent the spread of infectious diseases,” she said.

Within the CRC’s sub-project ‘Future Infections’, Junglen’s team investigates the impact of social-ecological transformations and land-use changes on the dynamics of arthropod-transmitted infectious viral diseases in north-eastern Namibia. Carrying the risk of catastrophic outbreaks, vector-borne diseases hold a large potential to shape future-making in rural Africa.

Apart from here involvement in the CRC, Junglen is furthermore chairing the working group Ecology of Emerging Arboviruses at the Institute of Virology, Charité University Medicine Berlin. Her work contributes widely on her research surrounding the matter and was recently featured in the ARD (Tagesschau) news on 2nd April 2020.

Click here to read the full press release.

More CRC News

portrait image of clemens greiner

Clemens Greiner Appointed Extraordinary Professor at the University of the Western Cape

Clemens Greiner, researcher in Project C02 Energy Futures, Academic Coordinator of the Global South Studies Center (GSSC) and adjunct Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the ...
Read More »
Group of researchers during a visit to the Bonn Heritage Lab

Exploring Decolonial Heritage: A Visit to the Global Heritage Lab

In June, a group of Future Rural Africa researchers visited the Global Heritage Lab in Bonn. The Global Heritage Lab is a research hub and ...
Read More »
image of ruth hall, prof. at the university of the western cape

Ruth Hall Appointed Director of PLAAS

Ruth Hall, Professor at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa, has been appointed Director of the Institute for Poverty, Land and ...
Read More »
map of green hydrogen infrastructure in southern Africa

Planning the Future: Comparing Green Hydrogen Strategies in Chile, Namibia, and South Africa

In their publication, Benedikt Walker and Britta Klagge (Project C02 Energy Futures) alongside Ravn Haid (University of Bonn) examine how spatial planning influences the development ...
Read More »
picture of a field with kale

Call for Workshop Scholarships: Transdisciplinary RLC Workshop on Rural Development and Smallholder Agriculture

The RLC Campus at ZEF, University of Bonn, Germany, offers scholarships for PhD students from Africa, Asia and Latin America, who are currently studying at ...
Read More »
Scroll to Top