Pandemics and land clearing

It is becoming apparent that human impacts on the natural environment are the cause of an increasing number of infectious diseases.

Large scale land clearing of natural ecosystems upsets the biodiversity, giving rise to the spread of diseases in the animal populations. Every now and then, one of these diseases jumps to humans (zoonosis).

Ebola originated in bat and primate populations (LINK -Centres for Disease Control and Prevention). SARS came from an unknown animal source through Civets, a species of wild cat. Hendra Virus started in Bat colonies. There are many more examples and now it is suspected that Covid-19 originated in the bush food, Pangolin.

Bat - Bombala Times, Pangolin and Civet - Wikipedia

These diseases, once in the human populations, are facilitated in their spread by poor hygiene practices, dense living conditions, etc. The ability nowadays for large numbers of people to rapidly travel around the world has meant that Covid-19 has become a global pandemic.

Although the figures are a bit rubbery, the world mortality rate for Covid-19 is currently around 5-6% (LINK – WHO Situation Report). The WHO states that the average death rate for the Ebola virus is a staggering 50%. The WHO also note that in Guinea where Ebola emerged, about 80% of the forested region had been cleared for farming and mining.

In 2015, an article in The Lancet by 22 researchers concluded that “Health effects from changes to the environment including climatic change, ocean acidification, land degradation, water scarcity, over-exploitation of fisheries, and biodiversity loss pose serious challenges to the global health gains of the past several decades and are likely to become increasingly dominant during the second half of this century and beyond.” (LINK – The Lancet)

Healthy Mountain Ash forest, Noojee.

And we needn’t be smug enough to suggest that it wouldn’t happen in Australia!

In 2018, Australia was listed as one of the top 5 worst nations for deforestation – alongside New Guinea, Indonesia, Congo and Brazil (LINK – ABC HACK). In the six years to 2016, land clearing in Queensland increased over 300%.

Clearfelling Rubicon Victoria - Wilderness Society

Research shows that human impacts on the natural environment are the source of more frequent infectious diseases around the world. Whilst we pay attention, (to a small degree it has to be said), to the effects of deforestation on climate change, pollution and extreme weather events, it is now becoming obvious that the spread of disease can be added to the list!