Harrison Mark E, Wijedasa Lahiru S, Cole Lydia E S, Cheyne Susan M, Choiruzzad Shofwan Al Banna, Chua Liana, Dargie Greta C, Ewango Corneille E N, Honorio Coronado Euridice N, Ifo Suspense A, Imron Muhammad Ali, Kopansky Dianna, Lestarisa Trilianty, O'Reilly Patrick J, Van Offelen Julie, Refisch Johannes, Roucoux Katherine, Sugardjito Jito, Thornton Sara A, Upton Caroline, Page Susan
Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK.
Borneo Nature Foundation International, Penryn, UK.
PeerJ. 2020 Nov 17;8:e10283. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10283. eCollection 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global disruption, with the emergence of this and other pandemics having been linked to habitat encroachment and/or wildlife exploitation. High impacts of COVID-19 are apparent in some countries with large tropical peatland areas, some of which are relatively poorly resourced to tackle disease pandemics. Despite this, no previous investigation has considered tropical peatlands in the context of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). Here, we review: (i) the potential for future EIDs arising from tropical peatlands; (ii) potential threats to tropical peatland conservation and local communities from COVID-19; and (iii) potential steps to help mitigate these risks. We find that high biodiversity in tropical peat-swamp forests, including presence of many potential vertebrate and invertebrate vectors, combined, in places, with high levels of habitat disruption and wildlife harvesting represent suitable conditions for potential zoonotic EID (re-)emergence. Although impossible to predict precisely, we identify numerous potential threats to tropical peatland conservation and local communities from the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes impacts on public health, with the potential for haze pollution from peatland fires to increase COVID-19 susceptibility a noted concern; and on local economies, livelihoods and food security, where impacts will likely be greater in remote communities with limited/no medical facilities that depend heavily on external trade. Research, training, education, conservation and restoration activities are also being affected, particularly those involving physical groupings and international travel, some of which may result in increased habitat encroachment, wildlife harvesting or fire, and may therefore precipitate longer-term negative impacts, including those relating to disease pandemics. We conclude that sustainable management of tropical peatlands and their wildlife is important for mitigating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reducing the potential for future zoonotic EID emergence and severity, thus strengthening arguments for their conservation and restoration. To support this, we list seven specific recommendations relating to sustainable management of tropical peatlands in the context of COVID-19/disease pandemics, plus mitigating the current impacts of COVID-19 and reducing potential future zoonotic EID risk in these localities. Our discussion and many of the issues raised should also be relevant for non-tropical peatland areas and in relation to other (pandemic-related) sudden socio-economic shocks that may occur in future.
新冠疫情已造成全球混乱，此次疫情以及其他疫情的出现与栖息地侵占和/或野生动物开发有关。在一些拥有大片热带泥炭地的国家，新冠疫情的影响尤为明显，其中一些国家应对疾病大流行的资源相对匮乏。尽管如此，此前尚无研究在新发传染病（EIDs）的背景下考虑过热带泥炭地。在此，我们进行综述：（i）热带泥炭地引发未来新发传染病的可能性；（ii）新冠疫情对热带泥炭地保护和当地社区构成的潜在威胁；（iii）有助于降低这些风险的潜在措施。我们发现，热带泥炭沼泽森林生物多样性高，包括存在许多潜在的脊椎动物和无脊椎动物传播媒介，且在某些地方栖息地受到高度干扰以及野生动物被大量捕猎，这些因素共同构成了潜在人畜共患新发传染病（重新）出现的适宜条件。尽管无法精确预测，但我们确定了新冠疫情给热带泥炭地保护和当地社区带来的众多潜在威胁。这包括对公众健康的影响，泥炭地火灾产生的雾霾污染可能增加感染新冠的易感性，这是一个值得关注的问题；以及对当地经济、生计和粮食安全的影响，在那些依赖对外贸易且医疗设施有限/没有医疗设施的偏远社区，影响可能更大。研究、培训、教育、保护和恢复活动也受到影响，特别是那些涉及人员聚集和国际旅行的活动，其中一些可能导致栖息地侵占、野生动物捕猎或火灾增加，从而可能引发长期负面影响，包括与疾病大流行相关的影响。我们得出结论，对热带泥炭地及其野生动物进行可持续管理对于减轻新冠疫情的影响、降低未来人畜共患新发传染病出现的可能性和严重程度至关重要，从而强化了对其进行保护和恢复的理由。为支持这一点，我们列出了七条与新冠疫情/疾病大流行背景下热带泥炭地可持续管理相关的具体建议，以及减轻新冠疫情当前影响和降低这些地区未来潜在人畜共患新发传染病风险的建议。我们的讨论以及提出的许多问题对于非热带泥炭地地区以及未来可能发生的其他（与大流行相关的）突发社会经济冲击也应具有相关性。
