Envisioning a resilient future for biodiversity conservation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ruth H Thurstan,Daniel Refly Katoppo,Regan Early,Aissa Regalla De Barros,Yunsiska Ermiasi,Isuru Wijesundara,Frauke Fleischer‐Dogley,Elena Bersacola,Mark E Harrison,Claire Collins,Christopher N Kaiser‐Bunbury,Nancy Bunbury,Kimberley J Hockings,Gabriella Gilkes,Cheryl Marriott,Didier Dogley,Ana Nuño ,Johanna Hedlund ,Marie May Muzungaile ,Muhammad Imron ,F J Frank Van Veen

doi:10.1002/pan3.10262

Abstract

As the COVID‐19 pandemic continues to affect societies across the world, the ongoing economic and social disruptions are likely to present fundamental challenges for current and future biodiversity conservation.We review the literature for outcomes of past major societal, political, economic and zoonotic perturbations on biodiversity conservation, and demonstrate the complex implications of perturbation events upon conservation efforts. Building on the review findings, we use six in‐depth case studies and the emerging literature to identify positive and negative outcomes of the COVID‐19 pandemic, known and anticipated, for biodiversity conservation efforts around the world.A number of similarities exist between the current pandemic and past perturbations, with experiences highlighting that the pandemic‐induced declines in conservation revenue and capacity, livelihood and trade disruptions are likely to have long‐lasting and negative implications for biodiversity and conservation efforts.Yet, the COVID‐19 pandemic also brought about a global pause in human movement that is unique in recent history, and may yet foster long‐lasting behavioural and societal changes, presenting opportunities to strengthen and advance conservation efforts in the wake of the pandemic. Enhanced collaborations and partnerships at the local level, cross‐sectoral engagement, local investment and leadership will all enhance the resilience of conservation efforts in the face of future perturbations. Other actions aimed at enhancing resilience will require fundamental institutional change and extensive government and public engagement and support if they are to be realised.The pandemic has highlighted the inherent vulnerabilities in the social and economic models upon which many conservation efforts are based. In so doing, it presents an opportunity to reconsider the status quo for conservation, and promotes behaviours and actions that are resilient to future perturbation. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic is restructuring our individual and collective behaviour on a global scale, including how we interact with each other, how and where we travel and how we work
We identified five cross-cutting conservation issues that were being caused, or were likely to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Table 2; Figure 2)
We identified seven solutions that—if implemented—would likely result in positive outcomes and promote opportunities for biodiversity conservation, in turn minimising the impact of future perturbations on conservation activities (Figure 2)

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic is restructuring our individual and collective behaviour on a global scale, including how we interact with each other, how and where we travel and how we work. More than a year after the initial outbreak, uncertainties as to how COVID-19 will continue to impact upon global society over the coming years and decades still remain (Walker et al, 2020) Amidst this uncertainty and fear, it is natural for conservation issues to drop off our collective radar. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a huge disparity in the media coverage of major conservation issues compared to the pandemic occurred (UNICEF, 2020) This is less the case today as science and the media increasingly highlight the perspectives that COVID-19 sheds on conservation. These include the importance of healthy and intact ecosystems for reducing the risk of future pandemics (Carrington, 2020; Vidal, 2020), the significance of our interactions with the natural world for our health and well-being (St-Esprit McKivigan, 2020) and the potential for sectors and society to use our collective responses to the pandemic to rethink current unsustainable practices (Carpenter, 2020; De Bellaigue, 2020; Eisenstein, 2020)

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Discussion

Conclusion