Human-Nature Interactions Through the Lens of Global Pandemics: a Review

The frequency of pandemics occurrence has increased, from every 200 years in period before the 18th century, to occurring every 10 to 50 years in the last century. The illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade, the devastation of forests and other wild places, and rapid human mobility were the driving forces behind the increasing number of diseases leaping from wildlife to humans. This article analyzes present human-nature interactions during COVID-19 and projecting future interactions after the pandemic, based on review on academic literature and reports from international development organizations. We found that global pandemic such as COVID-19 is altering human-nature interactions in three major global ecological issues: wildlife, urban emission, and land use. For wildlife, COVID-19 affects human perception towards wildlife consumption and trade, as well as animal conservation. For land use, COVID-19 makes countries reduced efforts for forest monitoring and conservation. For urban emission, lockdown/mobility limitation and physical or social distancing policies are proven to some extent resulted in better human-nature interactions that reduce environmental problems. Reduced emission occurred from decreased industrial activities and mobilities. But this positive impact on environment may end once COVID-19 ends and human activities return to previous pattern. Therefore, structural change is required to prepare a resilient sustainable development by continuing existing positive human behavior during COVID-19 as a new normal of human-nature relationships. It is proven to reduce emission and if it is continued, it can have long …