We’re all in this together

The novel coronavirus is a new strain of coronavirus that has not

been previously identified in humans. The novel coronavirus has caused
severe pneumonia in several cases in China and has been exported to a
range of countries and cities.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a dramatic impact on the global

community; on people’s lives and health, livelihoods, economies, and
behaviours. Most zoonotic disease pandemics, including COVID-19,
arise from the unsustainable exploitation of nature.

For many protected and conserved areas, negative impacts on

management capacity, budgets and effectiveness are significant, as are
impacts on the livelihoods of communities living in and around these
areas. We provide a commentary on how effectively and equitably
managed systems of protected and conserved areas can be part of a
response to the pandemic that both lessens the chance of a recurrence
of similar events and builds a more sustainable future for people and
nature.

We conclude the editorial with a Call for Action for the rescue, recovery,
rebuilding and expansion of the global network of protected and
conserved areas.

A coordinated global effort is required to support countries that currently

do not have sufficient fiscal space to finance social policy, in particular
universal social protection systems. Debt sustainability should be
prioritized in this endeavour.

Without long-term structural changes, the deep-rooted inequalities

exposed by the crisis will merely intensify. As well as tackling the
immediate effects of the crisis, the international community now has a
unique opportunity to adopt policies aimed at achieving social justice and
a human centred future of work.