Is nature punishing us with corona?

By Prof. O. A. Ileperuma, Emeritus

Professor, University of Peradeniya

‘Mother nature has sent us to our rooms, like the spoilt children we are. She gave us time and she gave us warnings. She was patient with us. She gave us fire and floods, she tried to warn us but, in the end, she took back control’ (Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York – March 2020)

Humans have existed on earth for over 300,000 years. History of human civilisations on earth shows the gradual transition from hunter gatherers during stone ages to agricultural civilisations. Stone age represents an era where man lived more like an animal but certain physical features such as erect posture, larger brain size relative to body size and the separation of the thumb from the rest of the fingers helped man to perform better compared to other animals. More importantly, man has ‘aptitude for culture’ which means that the knowledge gathered in one generation can be passed on to the next owing to the ability to communicate in a language combined with the ability to draw pictures in the caves where they lived using firewood charcoal.

The next phase of human development is the gradual shift to agricultural civilisations due to the superior brain of humans. He would have observed that smaller plants and animals in the forest grow into bigger plants and animals and decided to grow the plants and rear the animals near their rudimentary shelters. Cultivation of cereal crops began and this is the first time man came into conflict with nature by oversimplifying the mature biological systems. As a result of intensive agriculture, ancient Mesopotamian civilisation perished due to excessive salinity in their fields irrigated by directly damming rivers like Euphrates and Tigris. The population too continued to increase due to the abundance of food.

The third phase of human development is the advent of the science and technology era from the 1800s and due to advances in science, world population continued to increase. Important discoveries such as the Haber process to convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, discovery of antibiotics and chemical pesticides like DDT have all contributed to increased population. It took over one million years for the human population to reach the one billion mark at the beginning of the industrial revolution around the year 1800. However, the second billion was added after 127 years in 1927 and the third billion after 33 years in 1960. The fourth billion was added to earth in 1974 in just 14 years and the fifth billion mark was reached after 13 years in 1987.

World population currently stands at 7.8 billion and expected to rise to 9 billion by 2030. Some scientists believe that the carrying capacity for humans on earth is only 3.5 billion! People have to depend on the finite resources of the earth for their survival. On the average, around 350,000 humans are added to our planet daily while only 150,000 people die. Therefore, the world population increases by about 200,000 people in a single day and these people have to be housed, fed and clothed. All these put a tremendous pressure on the finite resources of the earth and when this becomes unbearable to Mother Nature, she finds a way to punish us.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic is a clear case of nature punishing us for exceeding the carrying capacity of this planet by artificially controlling nature. Nature has a way of punishing humans when they breach the delicate balances provided for the survival of all species including both plants and animals inhabiting the earth. When people clear forest lands, landslides occur with the devastation of human lives and property. A more serious consequence of human activities is global warming which is a major threat for the survival of the human race. Flash floods, cyclones and even tsunamis are all due to global warming. Climatic changes with excessive rainfall and long periods of drought seriously affect agricultural productivity.

In the present COVID-19 crisis too, global warming may have a role since viruses multiply faster at a higher temperature and there is a real danger of generating more virulent strains. During the last decade, we have witnessed major pandemics such as Ebola and SARS which are now under control. The deadlier Coronavirus appears to linger for a longer period compared to other viruses of the recent past.

Nature is sending a powerful message with the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing climatic change crisis. Imposing too much pressure on the natural environment will result in disastrous consequences. Earth has existed without us humans for a very long time and it does not need humans for its survival while we need a healthier earth for our own survival. It simply means that if we cannot take good care of nature, we cannot take care of ourselves.

COVID-19 is generally believed to have originated in the Wuhan province of China from bats used in markets selling live animals to satisfy the culinary desires of people. These viruses which exist in the wild are controlled by natural processes but human greed for bush meat exploring exotic animals has resulted in the uncontrollable growth of such viruses in the human body. Scientists say that global warming and population explosion has resulted in the destruction of forests for farming and housing and has driven wildlife into close contact with people. A classic case is the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka where people have encroached on the already depleted forest cover. At the time of Independence the forest cover of Sri Lanka was 44 percent while it is 16.5 percent today and 26,800 hectares of forest are cleared every year. Hence a long-term goal of the world to control future pandemics like COVID-19 would be to control destruction of natural habitats and preserve biodiversity. In a single day the world loses around 1,000 species of both plants and animals.

Scientists estimate that 75 percent of all emerging infectious diseases come from wildlife. For example, Ebola, bird flu, SARS and Zika viruses have all crossed from animals to humans. According to Prof. Andrew Cunningham of the London Zoological Society, a research study in 2007 on the SARS virus concluded that the large reservoir of sars-cov like viruses in horseshoe bats together with the consumption of exotic mammals in southern China is a time bomb. China has now banned the sale of live animals in open markets. Similar markets exist in other parts of South-East Asia and the World Health Organization should immediately investigate such open markets. More research is urgently needed to investigate the occurrence of viruses in wild animals and their transmission to humans. These viruses do not affect the wild animals harbouring them because they have developed immunity mechanisms through long years of evolution and hence it is important to study how such animals have natural immunity to fight such viruses.

The COVID-19 crisis may provide an opportunity to change our current attitudes about respecting nature. Also, it is important to understand that health and environmental policies are intimately connected. Our health clearly depends on the climatic changes brought about by global warming and also on the other organisms we share our planet with. Individual governments and world bodies such as the UN have an urgent responsibility to save the natural habitat and take meaningful action to save the human race from falling again to pandemics such as COVID-19.