Lloyd Mutungwazi
MANKIND depend on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems for good health and survival.
This came out at a recent 2020 Symposium on Climate Change and Biodiversity hosted by the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe and Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE) in Bulawayo.
Climate Change has become topical and hence society needs to take urgent to ensure the protection of biodiversity by observing responsible actions to the natural endowments.
Addressing delegates at the symposium, Josephine Maringa, a researcher in the department of Forest and Wildlife Management at the University of Science and Technology (Nust) said, “Covid-19 can be linked to Biodiversity loss, increase in wild animal trade and increased global movements by humans.”
“Take corona virus for instance, although links with the exact origin are still not conclusive some facts states that it originated in a wet market in Wuhan. The market has believed to sell all kinds of wild animals. The mixing of different types of animals opens up pathways for the sharing of pathogens,” Maringa said.
She added: “The availability and sustainable management of natural resource determines the baseline health status of a community, securing livelihoods and warranting community resilience. Healthy and biodiversity ecosystems also limit the emergence and spread of disease and stabilize the climate.”
Maringa further noted that in many instances, climate change acts as a threat multiplier adding that changing weather patterns can shift the geographic range, seasonality, and intensity of transmission of some climate-sensitive diseases, particularly vector-borne diseases.
Speaking on humane contribution to pathogens, Maringa gave an explicit over view.
“Human activity and environmentally destructive practices have changed pathogen
dynamics. While pathogen evolution is a natural phenomenon, factors such as global
travel, climate change, and overuse and misuse of antimicrobial agents can influence
pathogen movement, host ranges, and persistence and virulence,” recounted Maringa.
According to, WHO and Convention on Biological Diversity under their Joint Work Programme on biodiversity and health posits that, it is important to note that infectious diseases arise from a combination of ecological,
social and economic pressures that combine to amplify disease risk, rather than any
individual driver acting in isolation.
