Will the pandemic push humans into a healthier relationship with nature? BiodiversityDay
ROME, May 21 – Daniel Wanjama had everything ready for this year’s first seed fair in the Kenyan town of Gilgil, an important event where poor farmers exchange seeds of nutritious, hardy local crops they cannot easily buy in shops or markets.
Wanjama also worries that the cancellation of seed fairs could hasten the demise of resilient crops that may help farmers adapt to worsening wild weather as the planet warms. But key U.N. negotiations have been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic which many environmentalists blame, at least partly, on a failure to protect nature that has facilitated the transition of viruses from animals to humans.
Last month, Diaz and other top scientists behind that report warned of worsening future pandemics due to activities such as deforestation, farming, mining and infrastructure development.The coronavirus pandemic has now dashed hopes 2020 would see new international accords to halt shocking declines in animal and plant species, including a global framework to safeguard ecosystems under the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity and a treaty to protect oceans.
Governments are now recognizing this, she added, pointing to a joint call by mayors of powerful cities for economic recovery to be low-carbon and sustainable, and formal requests from Chile and Germany for scientific help to help avert future pandemics. Lauren Baker, programs director for the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, said consumers had also become more aware of the links between the environment and their food as lockdowns led them to cook more at home.
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