Emerging threats linking tropical deforestation and the COVID-19 pandemic

Pedro H S Brancalion; Eben N Broadbent; Sergio de-Miguel; Adrián Cardil; Marcos R Rosa; Catherine T Almeida; Danilo R A Almeida; Shourish Chakravarty; Mo Zhou; Javier G P Gamarra; Jingjing Liang; Renato Crouzeilles; Bruno Hérault; Luiz E O C Aragão; Carlos Alberto Silva; Angelica M Almeyda-Zambrano

doi:10.1016/j.pecon.2020.09.006

Emerging threats linking tropical deforestation and the COVID-19 pandemic

Perspect Ecol Conserv. 2020 Oct-Dec;18(4):243-246. doi: 10.1016/j.pecon.2020.09.006. Epub 2020 Sep 30.

Authors

Pedro H S Brancalion¹, Eben N Broadbent², Sergio de-Miguel^{3

4}, Adrián Cardil^{3

4

5}, Marcos R Rosa⁶, Catherine T Almeida¹, Danilo R A Almeida¹, Shourish Chakravarty⁷, Mo Zhou⁷, Javier G P Gamarra⁸, Jingjing Liang⁷, Renato Crouzeilles^{9

10

11}, Bruno Hérault^{12

13

14}, Luiz E O C Aragão^{15

16}, Carlos Alberto Silva^{17

18}, Angelica M Almeyda-Zambrano¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Forest Sciences, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP 13418-900, Brazil.
² Spatial Ecology and Conservation Lab, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
³ Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, University of Lleida, E-25198 Lleida, Spain.
⁴ Joint Research Unit CTFC - AGROTECNIO, E-25280 Solsona, Spain.
⁵ Technosylva Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Geography, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.
⁷ Forest Advanced Computing and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
⁸ International Consultant on Forestry Statistics, Rome, Italy.
⁹ International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22460-320, Brazil.
¹⁰ International Institute for Sustainability Australia, ACT 2602, Australia.
¹¹ Mestrado Profissional em Ciências do Meio Ambiente, Universidade Veiga de Almeida, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20271-901, Brazil.
¹² Cirad, UPR Forêts and Societies, Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire.
¹³ Forests and Societies, Univiversity of Montpellier, Cirad, Montpellier, France.
¹⁴ Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny, INPHB, Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire.
¹⁵ Remote Sensing Division, National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, 12227-010 São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil.
¹⁶ College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, United Kingdom.
¹⁷ Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD MD 20740, USA.
¹⁸ School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
¹⁹ Spatial Ecology and Conservation Lab, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

Abstract

Tropical deforestation drivers are complex and can change rapidly in periods of profound societal transformation, such as those during a pandemic. Evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred illegal, opportunistic forest clearing in tropical countries, threatening forest ecosystems and their resident human communities. A total of 9583 km² of deforestation alerts from Global Land Analysis & Discovery (GLAD) were detected across the global tropics during the first month following the implementation of confinement measures of local governments to reduce COVID-19 spread, which is nearly double that of 2019 (4732 km²). We present a conceptual framework linking tropical deforestation and the current pandemic. Zoonotic diseases, public health, economy, agriculture, and forests may all be reciprocally linked in complex positive and negative feedback loops with overarching consequences. We highlight the emerging threats to nature and society resulting from this complex reciprocal interplay and possible policy interventions that could minimize these threats.

Keywords: Coronavirus; Deforestation drivers; Environmental policy; Land use change; Tropical forests; Zoonotic diseases.