COVID-19 and Our ever erratic Environment

By Abdulwahab Jemil Lanre

The capital of Hubei in Wuhan China is where the first human case of the covid-19 caused by a crown-like virus known as coronavirus was recorded in the last quarter of 2019. Since then, it has caused a lot of chaos, which left everyone around the world perplexed as to how we can eradicate it since it is the first time the outbreak of such a virus will be recorded in human history. Many countries around the world have since then been recording covid-19 cases which could be contracted when people come in contact with the droplets of an affected individual whether directly or indirectly, for as long as it finds its way into the respiratory tracts of such individual, then he/she has the tendency of becoming infected with the disease. This led many countries into a nationwide lockdown and the closure of land, air and sea borders to curtail the spread of the virus. This has affected both the natural and artificial inhabitants of the world's entire ecosystem, both the biotic and the abiotic components, i.e., living or non-living components. This is important as we know that our ever-dynamic environment is a function of the activities of the biotic as well as the abiotic components.

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These activities can broadly be viewed as those which are beneficial to the environment and those that are toxic to the ecosystem, both immediate and those far from us. This pandemic greatly influenced our industrial activities, such that only a few companies like pharmaceuticals and agro companies were granted permission to keep manufacturing. For these periods, the industrial waste usually released into the environment by these companies' activities ranging from air pollution, oil spillage, and toxic carbon compounds, to mention a few, have witnessed a remarkable decline during these periods. Although with no statistical backup, a recent survey reported that the lockdown period impacted positively on the environment as much of toxic waste were not released into it in these periods. These areas were able to replenish to an appreciable state, and all the living components that have been chased away by toxic substances all returned and were able to once again sing songs of praises to the Most High. All thanks to Covid-19, that kept everyone indoors for the success of this great transformation.

However, other essential activities for the sustainability of the environment were also brought to a halt. Activities such as farming, aesthetics and recreation, and wildlife management were greatly affected by this pandemic, talking about their economic importance. For instance, farming is a key economic area since the prices of food will rise due to a decline in supply, which is due to farmers not being able to produce more.

In conclusion, it is important for us as humans to learn how to manage and preserve our ecosystem by checking or controlling the level of toxic substances we generate and consequently release into the environmental bodies rather than waiting for circumstances like Covid-19 to come teach us how to keep our homes safe.