The changing environment by anthropogenic pressures is worrying. In spite of eco-friendly innovations and technological efforts to restore nature during the past few decades, the Homo sapiens could only move a few steps forward, not up to the commendable extent. The dying earth is speaking louder about its health status, but the Homo sapiens are hardly bothered about the pain and the overexploitation continues.
Environmental resiliency refers to the capacity of environment to absorb and respond to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances, to retain and keep the system functional over time. Ecosystem resiliency is an inbuilt ability and property of an ecosystem to fight back and to regain its natural position overtime. The forests are rich in biodiversity and are vulnerable to forest fires, these forests are burning every day across the world, and billions of species lost their habitat and even lost their lives due to unfavorable conditions, but the natural ability of resiliency of these ecosystems makes its regain and maintain its health. The World Wildfires are alarming and worrying at world level, as they are responsible for large amounts of economic and environmental damage and the recent Australia wildfire was one of the worst examples in recent decades. These effects are being exacerbated by the influence of global warming and the deadly global climate change. Wildfire patterns and events are changing and wildfire seasons are becoming longer due to climate driven drought conditions, but still the environmental resiliency plays an important role to regain, reshape and to improve health status of biodiversity that sustains Homo sapiens. The population explosion, urbanization, industrialization and modernization have increased the burden of Homo sapiens on environmental health and its resources. The population explosion in geometric progression needs more resources and more space to live on and are exploiting land resources in an unsustainable way. Humans from the beginning are lynching the mother earth and the inbuilt capacity of environmental resiliency helps it to adjust accordingly, but the current rate of over exploitation and unsustainable practices may surely lead to an horrified end.
The world’s natural resources are facing extensive threats and challenges from the last decades and billions of people are fighting for the necessity of clean air and water. The water bodies are in the worst state in terms of quality, while some fresh water bodies are in a dystrophic state due to excessive pollution and carelessness in less than a decade. The air quality is worsening and billions of people are killed worldwide annually due to hazardous air quality index.
The availability of green spaces is also challenging due to population sprawling and industrialization. There are many processes and activities that are degrading the environment and hamper the resiliency and these anthropogenic activities need to be reconsidered, the broken bridge between man and environment should be reestablished for the sustainable future.
There are specific laws of nature to regulate the normal functioning of the system and same is the case of disease outbreaks from time to time, to regulate the population and maintain the balance of the system for sustainability. In December 2019, a new infectious respiratory disease emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, named by the World Health Organization as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). It is caused by recently discovered a class of coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus)
The whole world is fighting the deadly, highly contagious virus and the world was never prepared for such lethal contagious infection. The scientific community is working for an antidote to control it from December 2019, but still did not succeed to control this tiny microbe and this microorganism killed millions of people across the world. There are many assumptions regarding the origin of contagious virus COVID-19, and is expected that eating of pangolin and bat in China may be behind the spread of such deadly contagious, and such wildlife hunts and trade need to reconsidered and stopped immediately to save Homo sapiens from future outbreaks. The lockdown has been imposed throughout the world to stop its further spread and the world economy, life standard, emotions and mental health, trade and business affected a lot. The developed countries like the USA, China and others are hit so hard by this contagious disease, and are helpless.
These outbreaks are repeated from time to time, and managed by the laws of nature to maintain the balance. These natural checks are very uncertain and unpredictable and its effect on Homo sapiens is very hard to comprehend, while nature tries to reconstruct and strengthen the broken bridge between man and nature. The water bodies across the world are getting cleaner in terms of quality and the natural way of purification proved that the natural technology is best and has no comparison. The most polluted rivers like Ganga and Yamuna have regained and improved their water quality during the Covid-19 lockdown due to reduction in pollution load from industries and other business units.
The solid waste generation is reduced in this lockdown and saves billions of tonnes of oil and other natural resources from consumption. The wildlife thrived and it is evident that, there is an increase in green cover, wildlife sighting is very common across the world and in Jammu and Kashmir. The air quality index of polluted cities of the world is improving and ameliorating by laws of nature and it needs no technology and manpower.
The environment health has improved during the Covid Pandemic, the environmental resiliency has strengthened and repaired the ravaged and affected ecosystem of the world and these laws of nature will help the environment to thrive and manage its health for a sustainable future. Let’s save the environment by protecting its diversity and its keystone species for a sustainable future.
Let’s know our flagship species and improve endemism for a better future with Northern Conservancy for Sustainable Future.
Suhail Bashir is founder of Northern Conservancy for Sustainable Future