COVID-19 and some of its predecessors such as Avian Influenza and Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have originated in the Asia Pacific region and are known as ‘zoonotic diseases’, which are infectious diseases transmitted between animals and humans and affect more than two billion people and cause over two million deaths every year.

UNEP’s recent flagship report “Making Peace with Nature” reveals that around a quarter of the global burden of disease stems from environment-related risks including zoonotic diseases but also, climate change, and exposure to pollution and toxic chemicals. Habitat and biodiversity loss caused by deforestation as well as increased encroachment of humans into natural habitats particularly in tropic regions such as South-East Asia have been associated with an increase in infectious animal-born diseases.

In addition to their impact on the environment, zoonotic diseases can also disrupt the world economy. According to the World Bank, it is estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic forced the global economy to contract by 4.3% in 2020. That amounts to about $3.6 trillion worth of goods and services not including the impact of the pandemic through deaths, illness and loss of livelihood.

Asia and Pacific countries have been severely impacted by COVID-19 with a total of more than 45 million cases and approximately 650,000 deaths, as of end of June 2021. While some countries have brought down infections through strict control measures and/or rapid vaccinations, cases are still on the rise fueled by new highly contagious variants.

The First Thematic Session of the Asia Pacific Science Policy Business Forum will explore pathways to prevent new zoonotic diseases and the impact of ecosystem degradation on human health in the region.

While efforts are under way to address the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing the emergence of novel zoonoses through a “One Health” approach as endorsed by international agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO), the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) and the FAO will be key to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment.

In this regard, the UNEP report entitled “Nature strikes back: COVID-19 and the risk of future pandemics in Asia and the Pacific” lays out options for innovative national surveillance framework for monitoring and early warningas well as nature-smart policies that reduce the risk of future zoonotic diseases.

There is an urgent need for “win-win” solutions in terms of biodiversity, agriculture and health in a region where wildlife exploitation and the derived demand for meat are considered as important drivers of disease. Ambitious and coordinated action by governments, agencies, businesses and communities in moving a healthy people-animal-environment development agenda forward can stop future zoonoses from happening and enable us to ‘build back’ healthy ecosystems while also progressing Sustainable Development Goals.