Global Aerial Habitat Conservation Post-COVID-19 Anthropause

ZULUAGA, S.; SPEZIALE, K.; LAMBERTUCCI SA

TRENDS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION - TREE

ELSEVIER SCIENCE LONDON

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2021

0169-5347

Aerial habitat is increasingly threatened. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) anthropause shows that a decrease in human mobility and goods production for even a short period reduces the global anthropogenic impact on airspace fragmentation and pollution. Economic and environmental post-COVID-19 agendas should consider the changes observed in the aerial habitat during the anthropause.The Need for AeroconservationAerial habitats are becoming increasingly fragmented [e.g., by skyscrapers, communication towers, power lines, wind farms, aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)] and polluted (e.g., by contaminants, noise, and light) [1., 2., 3., 4., 5.]. Under this scenario, the global lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has represented a remarkable and unique experiment, recently named ?anthropause? (see Glossary). The pronounced reduction in human mobility and goods production, and particularly the decrease in fossil fuel use over even a short period, have reduced the impact of human activities on the airspace (e.g., aerial fragmentation and aerial pollution). Although the short-term positive effects of the anthropause on aerial habitats have been well documented [6], a post-COVID-19 back-to-normal strategy (business as usual) that favors economic recovery could rapidly override them. If we seek to achieve global biodiversity conservation goals and reduce the effects of climate change at the same time as promoting economic recovery, post-COVID-19 economic and environmental agendas must be developed in tandem and we can take advantage of the changes observed in the aerial habitat during the COVID-19 anthropause. Aerial habitat protection requires synergy between science, government policy, industry, and law for the implementation of aeroconservation measures.