The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on global socioeconomic systems, with profound effects on human health and well-being. Measures to contain the spread of the virus, such as lockdowns and travel restrictions, significantly altered how humans interact with one another and the environment. This article examines the impact of the pandemic on protected areas (PAs) supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the primary financial mechanism for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and the most significant funding source for biodiversity conservation. Using project documentation and spatiotemporal geospatial analysis of fire regimes and forest cover, the study finds that PAs faced significant implementation and management challenges, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. Only a third of the projects applied strategies to mitigate these challenges, highlighting the need for more proactive measures. Although most GEF-supported PAs experienced fire frequency and deforestation rates within the predicted range, some exceptions highlight the importance of continued efforts to monitor and mitigate environmental threats to PAs. The pandemic also had a significant negative impact on livelihoods, particularly in areas reliant on tourism revenue. The findings underscore the need for proactive and adaptive measures, effective monitoring and evaluation systems, and the importance of more diversified and resilient income-generating activities to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of PA systems.
Tag: COVID-19
The impact of COVID-19 on public perceptions of wild meat in Central Africa
Wild meat is a significant source of food and income generation in Central Africa. However, there is little knowledge of how the assumed link between COVID-19 and wild meat consumption has been discussed by the media and received by the public. In this study, we conducted media content analysis of 264 articles published in 2019–2020 related to wild meat consumption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gabon and Republic of the Congo and carried out mobile phone surveys with 3644 respondents in Cameroon and DRC in 2021; among those who answered the area question, 912 respondents were from villages, 1166 from towns, and 1199 from cities. We found that COVID-19 increased media discussion of wild meat across all three countries since February 2020. Despite the dominant media discourse focussing on disease risk associated with wild meat (61%), over one-third of respondents considered domestically raised red meat as the riskiest meat. The theory that COVID-19 originated in laboratories was observed both in the media (10%) and among phone survey respondents (7% Cameroonian, 9% DRC respondents). About half (47%) of Cameroonian respondents and one-third (38%) of DRC respondents reported a reduction in wild meat consumption in the surveyed period in 2021 with the most frequent reason being perceived risks of infectious disease. Conversely, some (3% Cameroonian, 32% DRC respondents) increased their wild meat consumption mainly due to the reduced availability of other meats. Our results suggest that COVID-19 brought increased media attention to wild meat consumption and changed public perceptions and stated consumption behaviours related to wild meat consumption in Central Africa. Bans on trading wild meat were widely discussed in the media as a potential policy response to COVID-19, but there was a lack of consensus among respondents that this would be the most appropriate policy: more than half of respondents did not support a ban on wild meat consumption. If policymakers wish to reduce wild meat consumption in Central African countries, trustworthy communication strategies and access to alternative food sources will be needed.
COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated food insecurity in South American countries
The COVID-19 pandemic had unprecedented political, economic, and social consequences, intensifying global food insecurity (FI). To assess its impact on different socio-economic groups, this study analyzed food insecurity prevalence and severity across 18,997 households in seven South American countries using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FAO). Findings indicate that before the pandemic, 4.5% of households experienced Moderate FI, while 0.6% faced Severe FI. During the pandemic, Moderate FI surged to 16.9% (+12.4%), and Severe FI rose to 2.7% (+2.1%). Venezuela had the highest pre-pandemic Moderate FI prevalence (9.7%), while Peru reported the most Severe FI cases (1.1%). Peru saw the largest increase in both Moderate FI (+23.9%) and Severe FI (+4.6%). Low-income households (earning <2 minimum wages per month) were most vulnerable. Uruguayan low-income families experienced the sharpest increase (+40.4%) in Moderate FI, while Peru’s low-income households saw Severe FI rise by +9.1%. This study highlights the profound and far-reaching effects of COVID-19 on food insecurity in South America, stressing the urgent need for effective public policy interventions to enhance resilience against future crises. Policymakers must develop targeted strategies to address immediate challenges and build a sustainable, resilient food security landscape for the region.
Can Restoration of the Commons Reduce Rural Vulnerability? A Quasi-Experimental Comparison of COVID-19 Livelihood-based Coping Strategies among Rural Households in Three Indian States
India has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of a larger quasi-experimental impact assessment, we assess the pandemic’s effects on household coping behavior in 80 villages spread across four districts and three states (n = 772). Half of these villages were targeted by a largescale common land restoration program spearheaded by an NGO, the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES). The other half are yet to be targeted but are statistically similar vis-à-vis FES’s village targeting criteria. Analyzing the results of a phone survey administered eight to ten months into the pandemic and its associated lockdowns, we find that the livelihood activities of households in both sets of villages were adversely impacted by COVID-19. Consequently, most households had to resort to various negative coping behaviors, e.g., distressed asset sales and reduced farm input expenditure. From the same mobile survey data, we construct a Livelihoods Coping Strategies Index (LCSI) and find that households in villages targeted by FES’s common land restoration initiative score 11.3% lower on this index on average, equating to a 4.5 percentage point difference. While modest, this statistically significant effect estimate (p < 0.05) is consistent across the four districts and robust to alterative model and outcome specifications. We find no empirical support that our observed effect was due to improved access to common pool resources or government social programs. Instead, we speculate that this effect may be driven by institutional factors, rather than economic, a proposition we will test in future work.
Effect of COVID-19 on rural community enterprises: Case of community forest enterprises in Cameroon
The COVID-19 outbreak has been a big shock to the entire world. The global economic slowdown and loss of human life have been highlighted as immediate impacts of the virus. Rural forest communities and their enterprises have also been affected in different ways. This study seeks to extend the current understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 by evaluating how it has affected rural community forest enterprises (CFEs) in Cameroon. A sample of 13 CFEs makes up the study. Focus-group discussions with a well-structured interview guide were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. The results reveal that CFEs dealing in perishable products suffered more from the effects of restrictive government measures to contain the virus than enterprises dealing in non-perishable products. Transport costs for most activities doubled for all enterprises; labour supply was reduced by 72.5% for CFEs dealing in perishable products and 50% for enterprises dealing with non-perishable products. The commercialization of CFEs’ products was also adversely affected: market prospects reduced by 100%; sale prices of products reduced by 57% for perishable products and by 60% for non-perishable products; and global commercialization costs increased by 100%, for all CFEs. With the virus outbreak, CFEs also were challenged engaging with their partners, especially donors, technical support organizations and the private sector. The study recommends exploiting value-addition options through the processing of perishable products to improve enterprise resilience to such exogenous shocks.