These days, nature seems to want to make up for lost space.

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads throughout the world, the images are repeated: closed factories, empty routes, desert streets, less consumption in general … The sudden stop of human activities as a result of this disease, which has already acquired characteristics global and historical, it seems to have, paradoxically, a great beneficiary: the environment. The decrease in the number of trips in motor vehicles, the decrease in industrial production and the consequent consumption translate into less pollution, cleaner waters and clearer skies. From China to Venice, Barcelona or Madrid, these would be some of the positive side effects of the health crisis that the world is trying to go through today.

Despite some conflicting and divergent ideas about certain data, scientists around the world conclude in a reality that is inescapable: the ecosystems that make up the Earth are at great risk, and the probability of a turning point is certain.

According to the latest report of the international panel of experts on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the UN, IPBES, we are facing an unprecedented loss of global biodiversity due mainly to the human impact that, as has been evidenced in these weeks, is essential.

It is important to understand that we live where we live, we all depend on nature and its ecosystems for food, water, clean air, good health, mental well-being, as well as a sense of identity and community. All of that is now at risk. For this reason, now more than ever, the commitment to care for the environment and biodiversity must be assumed. Action must be taken without delay to ensure the survival not only of humanity, but also of the natural habitats and the creatures that live in them.

Source: Diario San Rafael