Coronavirus is man-made. Yes of course. Not in the way that implies genetic engineering etc but due to his avarice in exploiting nature. Wonder how?
Well, many species have been co-existing on earth each within its own unique habitat contributing to the biodiversity of nature. Men started off thus too, but as time progressed and population went out of control, the need for more space and food prompted them to seek greener and richer pastures. This meant that he sought out forests and terrains hitherto left undisturbed to procure more food, space for living etc. Deforestation and wild life hunting are the two major activities during such rampages of Homo sapiens.
You may ask “True that. But how would this create diseases?” The deep forests are living Pandora boxes. They have within their fold, numerous wild life which have been untouched or unexposed to modern civilisation. Many of these carry within themselves, their normal microbial flora which include bacteria and viruses which man has never been exposed to, but these animals/birds have gained immunity against and would serve as asymptomatic carriers. These are carefully locked up by nature in the deep forests where men cannot be infected by them. Now comes the need to expand territory and hence man steps into the forest armed with pickaxes, nets, guns etc wreaking havoc and destruction along his path. Both wild life flora and fauna are disturbed and such ‘exotic’ meat gets sold in markets at exorbitant prices due to the high demand and uniqueness of the same. Zoonotic diseases or diseases of animal origin from these fauna get unleashed and either directly or via many intermediate animal hosts end up causing pandemics much like the CoViD19 situation.
This has been predicted by many native tribals who foresaw the wrath of nature if disturbed due to the greed of man.
According to Romero, a member and leader of the Bribri tribe of Costa Rica, “My people have cultural knowledge that says when Sibö, our God, created Earth, he locked up some bad spirits. These spirits come out when we’re not respecting nature and living together.” This is a very deep thought which should make us reflect on the practises which harbinger such catastrophic events. Tourism fosters connectivity due to which more trees need to be felled to pave way for roads for better transportation. In addition, the pharma industry with an eye for novel nature-inspired drugs also contribute to the felling of trees in an attempt to procure ‘sources’ of novel bioactives. Trees being the habitat of many such native wild life species, when felled expose them from the dense forests to modern civilisations and with that come the risk of such zoonotic diseases. Diseases emerge due to a disruption of the ecological balance that earth had naturally bestowed, thereby generating zones which are an overlap between wild and domestication and these zones are the primary breeding ground for the transformation of such microbes where they adapt to new hosts for survival. We are responsible for generating such training grounds for these dangerous microbes by deforestation, trading of wildlife from such zones, thereby exposing domesticated animal intermediary hosts and human beings to novel disease-causing germs.
A recent study conducted on the recent spike in cases of malaria and dengue in Borneo revealed a shocking truth. The mosquitoes which transmit this disease were primarily feasting on the primates in the area were now adapting to new human hosts as the primates were concentrating in the remaining fractions of the forest as a result of deforestation. With changes in water body temperature due to the felling of trees, a conducive environment for mosquito breeding was created. As human beings working in the buffer zone became exposed to the mosquitoes and thereby the pathogens, they ended up being a new host for these diseases. Another study clearly demonstrated a spike in malaria cases from 600 per year to 120,000 just after a road was laid through a virgin forest in Peru and people started clearing more trees for farming in that zone. This is but just one example and many other diseases have emerged into a human host due to such deforestation attempts.
What then is the solution? Conserving biodiversity, respecting nature and protecting indigenous landscapes, learning from nature. If we look at the native tribes in certain parts of the world, it is amazing to note that even though they have huge forest lands at their disposal, they restrict their living zones to a very limited area and live in a sustainable fashion without encroaching into the forest zones more than what is absolutely necessary. ‘Live and let live’ seems to be a motto they tide by. Peaceful co-existence with other species in the midst of the forest and also ensuring they replace what they take from nature is a trait we ‘modern civilised’ society need to learn.
It is late but not too late to make a correction. If we all join hands and learn to respect nature and to curb the greed in man then we stand a chance – a chance for survival on earth. Let us make a resolution this minute to make a change in ourselves and our immediate family and then spread this all around so we can live in a happy peaceful and green earth co-existing with nature.
Some links for those interested to read more:
https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/articles/deforestation-and-pandemics
