COVID 19: Urgent call to protect people and nature

COVID-19: Urgent Call to Protect People and Nature shows that the key drivers for the emergence of zoonotic diseases are land-use change, expansion and the intensification of agriculture and animal production, and the consumption of high-risk wildlife. WWF urges governments, companies and individuals to tackle these key drivers and so create a healthier world for people and our planet. This report provides the following recommendations (pp. 32-36):

• Recommendation 1: Stop illegal, unregulated and high-risk wildlife trade and consumption;
• Recommendation 2: Support sustainable food systems that halt encroachment on nature;
• Recommendation 3: Build a more sustainable relationship between people and nature through sustainable and just economic recovery approaches with defined and holistic goals.

WWF calls on all Governments to, among others:

1. Halt the high-risk wildlife trade and increase enforcement to combat illicit wildlife trade.
2. Introduce and enforce legislation and policy actions to eliminate deforestation and conversion from supply chains.
3. Commit to and provide adequate finance for the implementation of an ambitious post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

WWF calls on all companies and industries to, among others:

1. Implement and strengthen all voluntary environmental measures during and after the crisis.
2. Deliver credible action to decrease the environmental footprint of food supply chains, including promoting sustainable production, ensuring supplier traceability to points of origin, and encouraging consumers to make sustainable dietary choices.
3. Support policies and legislation that ensure all production and consumption of agricultural commodities are free from deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems.

WWF calls on civil society organisations to:

1. Support vulnerable communities directly affected by the crisis and its environmental drivers, ensuring that they are adequately represented in recovery efforts.
2. Work together with governments and industries to develop sustainable solutions that reduce illegal and high-risk wildlife exploitation and transform our food systems.
3. Increase accountability of international institutions, governments and industries that fail to take action in the wake of the crisis.

WWF calls on the public to:

1. Engage with our government representatives to ensure that they commit to a New Deal for Nature and People, take action to protect natural ecosystems, and strengthen their nature and climate commitments.
2. Call on industries to demonstrate leadership by decreasing their negative impacts on society and the environment.
3. Shift their dietary and consumption habits to make more sustainable choices.