Mary Celin S, Bhanot Pallvi, Kalsi Anchita
Centre for Fire Explosives and Environment Safety (CFEES), DRDO, Delhi, India.
Environ Dev Sustain. 2022;24(11):12518-12541. doi: 10.1007/s10668-022-02228-3. Epub 2022 Apr 7.
Natural resources are under constant exploitation due to industrialization and urbanization. Ecological disturbance caused by over exploitation of resources is one of the possible reasons for the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the highly infectious nature of this disease, countries across the world have taken self-imposed isolation measures such as lockdown, quarantine, curfew, etc., to limit human-to-human spread. Though this pandemic has shaken the world and left millions suffering, it has also caused surprising positive effects to environment. Due to reduced human pressure on ecosystems during the lockdown, betterment of air, water quality and biodiversity along with reduced consumption of natural resources have been reported. It is necessary to maintain this improvement in order to avoid the environmental benefits slipping away once the world limbs back to normalcy. The benefits acquired in terms of resource conservation prompt us to avoid unnecessary human interference and adopt sustainable life styles. Wide usage of information and communication technologies (viz. work from home, teleconferencing, e-learning and e-commerce) during the pandemic revealed their potential in meeting the needs of human livelihood and played a significant role in improvement in air quality and reduced resource consumption. Implementing them should be a policy measure during an environmental crisis. Active government involvement is necessary for coordinating institutional and policy aspects of resource conservation. Smooth transitioning to more sustainable post-COVID world thus requires coordinated action at individual, local, national and international levels. Restoring environmental resources is essential to prevent future pandemics.
由于工业化和城市化，自然资源正受到持续的开发利用。资源过度开发造成的生态干扰是新冠疫情爆发的可能原因之一。鉴于这种疾病具有高度传染性，世界各国都采取了诸如封锁、隔离、宵禁等自我隔离措施，以限制人际传播。尽管这场疫情震动了世界，让数百万人受苦，但它也给环境带来了惊人的积极影响。据报道，由于封锁期间人类对生态系统的压力减轻，空气质量、水质和生物多样性得到改善，自然资源消耗减少。有必要维持这种改善，以免一旦世界恢复正常，环境效益就消失。在资源保护方面获得的益处促使我们避免不必要的人为干扰，采用可持续的生活方式。疫情期间信息和通信技术的广泛使用（如居家办公、电话会议、电子学习和电子商务）显示了它们在满足人类生计需求方面的潜力，并在改善空气质量和减少资源消耗方面发挥了重要作用。在环境危机期间，实施这些技术应成为一项政策措施。政府的积极参与对于协调资源保护的制度和政策方面是必要的。因此，顺利过渡到更具可持续性的后疫情时代世界需要个人、地方、国家和国际层面的协调行动。恢复环境资源对于预防未来的疫情至关重要。
