Tribune. Nations are making unprecedented efforts to try to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on human health. The emergence of this virus and the upheavals which result from it highlight more than ever the importance of a better consideration of ecosystems and their biodiversity in our methods of land management and agricultural production to avoid the emergence of new pandemics.
With the acceleration of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, messages are multiplying on the importance of preserving and restoring our ecosystems and better managing biodiversity in order to reduce the risk of the emergence of new infectious diseases . A significant part of this equation directly relates to food security, which depends on biodiversity, as shown by the latest global biodiversity assessments, including the FAO report on The State of Biodiversity for Food and Food. in the world.
The conversion of habitats for agriculture, the overexploitation of natural resources and poor agricultural practices are, as we know, major causes of the loss of biodiversity. These same factors can also increase the risk of the emergence of infectious diseases. By increasing our efforts and investments to make agriculture more sustainable the risks of infectious diseases (on average one new disease per year for the past decades) could be reduced.
The essential role of biodiversity
Today, it is clearly established that human activities influence the emergence of zoonoses, the latter representing 2/3 of existing infectious diseases. On the one hand, biodiversity, at the level of genes, species and ecosystems, is closely linked to infectious diseases: although a high level of biodiversity can be associated with high levels of diversity of pathogens, the loss of biodiversity, that either through deforestation or the intensification of agricultural activities, increases contacts between wildlife, farm animals and humans, thus promoting the spread of zoonoses.
We must promote collective actions to allow biodiversity to play the role of regulator of pathogens and to improve agricultural production in order to guarantee food security for all. The “One Health” approach jointly promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Health Organization animal (OIE) advocates an integrated, systemic and unified vision of public, animal and environmental health.
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