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“In addition to appearing more frequently, new pandemics, experts say, could spread faster, cause more damage to the global economy, and kill more people than COVID-19 unless we fundamentally change the way we work. globally to prevent infectious diseases, “writes the Norwegian Environment Agency. in their review of a new report from the United Nations Panel on Nature (IPBES).
In the report, a collection of international experts warns that there may be more and worse pandemics than COVID-19 in the future. Among other things, deforestation and other invasions of nature could lead to an increased risk of transmission of various viruses from animals to humans.
– Expert report shows that it is increasingly clear how global man-made changes in biodiversity lead to major threats to human well-being. The risk of infection between animals and humans is higher when animal species lose their habitats, says director Ellen Hambro of the Norwegian Environment Agency.
The coronavirus is believed to have been transmitted from bats to humans before it appeared in Wuhan, China.
– Changes in land use, the increase and intensification of agriculture, trade and consumption that are not sustainable affect nature and increase contact between wild animals, domestic animals, infectious substances and humans writes the Norwegian Environment Agency.
The experts behind the report conclude that the costs associated with pandemic outbreaks are 100 times the estimated cost of preventing pandemics. They ask that activities that can trigger pandemics be regulated and taxed.
(© NTB)
