22nd April: International Mother Earth Day

Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action. Nature is suffering. Australian fires, heat records and the worst locust invasion in Kenya. Now we face COVID -19, a worldwide health pandemic link to the health of our ecosystem.

Climate change, man-made changes to nature as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversity, such as deforestation, land-use change, intensified agriculture and livestock production or the growing illegal wildlife trade, can increase contact and the transmission of infectious diseases from animals to humans (zoonotic diseases) like COVID-19.

From one new infection disease that emerges in humans every 4 months, 75% of these emerging diseases come from animals, according to UN Environment.

With this big picture, and the coronavirus scenario, our immediate priority is to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but in long-term, it is important to tackle habitat and biodiversity loss.

We are in this fight together with our Mother Earth.

We must act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and the existential threat of climate disruption.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres