COVID-19: Respiro y Desafío para el Planeta • COVID-19: A Respite and Challenge for Planet Earth
Photo by Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro
by Hortensia Azucena Picos Lee
You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it.
You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.
The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.
Psalm 65:9-13 (NIV)
THE RESPITE
As the COVID-19 outbreak spreads throughout the world, governments of different countries have adopted measures of confinement and suspension of activities to prevent its spread. This has given us a look into nature long hidden by smoke and pollution.
China was the first country to show an improvement in air quality, as the closure of factories and shops led to a sharp drop in the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2), which each year kills 1.1 million people, according to the University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
The effects have also been reflected in Madrid, where peacocks and deer have gone out to the main streets in search of food; in the canals of Venice through which fish and swans pass again; and on the streets of California where coyotes have come to explore.
In Latin America, nature has also taken advantage of the absence of people to roam the areas that were gradually taken from it, such as the beaches of Lima, Peru, which recently saw the appearance of dolphins and sea lions.
In Mexico, endangered species such as jaguars, leatherback turtles, hocofaisanes and crocodiles have been seen in the urban area and even in hotels in Cancun and the Riviera Maya in the Mexican Caribbean.
Alfredo Arellano, secretary of ecology and environment of the state of Quintana Roo, pointed out that many animals have recovered spaces during the Coronavirus quarantine, but that cases such as the leatherback turtle that came to spawn at the Cancun hotel are surprising.
"On average, we only have one leatherback turtle nesting per year in the entire state and the nesting season doesn’t start until May, it is totally atypical," he said.
According to the Ecology municipal directorate, the leatherback turtle, 2.15 meters long and 1.4 wide, laid 112 eggs in front of the beach of the Grand Oasis hotel in the Cancun hotel zone.
A biologist by profession, the ecology secretary explained that one of the characteristics of animal species that are in danger of extinction and that inhabit natural environments is that they are more timid and do not like human contact.
"These species are losing their habitats as cities are urbanized and the spaces where they live become smaller," he explained.
He pointed out that what is happening now "are very notable cases because in the absence of people, with hotels closed, beaches empty, streets without cars, wildlife naturally returns to those areas."
The hocofaisán is an endemic bird of the Yucatan Peninsula. Three specimens of hocofaisán, one male and two female, have become frequent visitors to the Urban Ecological Park Kabah, which closed its doors on March 25 as part of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
"It is said that Yucatan is the land of the pheasant and the deer, and it is precisely this species of pheasant that is referred to, it is only found here, in the Yucatan peninsula, there is nowhere else, it is something incredible to be able to have a male and two females of this species in the urban area of Cancun", he said.
Arellano pointed out that significant environmental recovery can be expected in the state as there is a decrease in the burning of fossil fuels, from planes to vehicular traffic.
"We are going to see changes in the absence of tourists or very adverse weather conditions," he said.
Regarding air quality, cities such as New Delhi, Santiago, Bogotá and Mexico City that are on permanent alert for poor air quality, have shown improvement in recent weeks and given citizens the opportunity to look up at a clear sky.
Due to these improvements, the COVID-19 pandemic has been considered by some as a “respite for the planet” and even a defense mechanism that nature has implemented to reverse the effects of humanity.
THE CHALLENGE
However, international experts and environmentalists have warned that this "respite" to the planet is only temporary.
John Sauven, CEO of Greenpeace UK, stated that no health crisis or economic downturn or other type of disaster will give us a safer and more environmentally friendly world.
He affirmed that this world must be built piece by piece through a globally agreed effort, for which there are no precedents, and assured that in the coming days the political class will have the opportunity to lay the foundations for a stronger economy.
“We need a world where having clean air and water, preserving nature and lowering carbon emissions are not accidental consequences of a disaster. We need to understand the benefits of having a healthy planet and understand that there is a better way of doing things, "he said.
However, the use of fossil fuels based on carbon continues to be the energy source that drives the economy of Mexico and many parts of the world.
Pollutants originate primarily from the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline.
"If the economy stops because of COVID-19, as has happened in China, Italy and France, it would decrease the consumption of fossil fuels leading to a decrease in greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere, especially CO2", stressed Dr. María del Carmen Hernández, professor of biology and sustainable development at the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey campus State of Mexico.
As the pandemic dies out across the world, industries, transportation, and our consumption patterns will return to normal, causing a new spike in pollution rates in the environment. But we can help our planet continue its respite.
Measures taken to stop the spread of COVID-19, have shown us some necessary changes in the medium and long term to protect the planet and improve the quality of life for human beings.
Within pollution management strategies, in general we can define three alternatives:
Modify activities that produce or generate pollutants (in water, soil and air) in order to reduce pollution levels.
Create strict policies to control the release of pollutants.
Work to clean and restore ecosystems that have been damaged by human activities and caused irreversible ecological damage such as loss of habitats, biodiversity, etc.
In any case, the health crisis that the world is going through is a great opportunity to rethink our consumption habits, raise awareness about our carbon footprints and think through strategies to tackle climate change. Let us reconnect with nature, let it breathe.
