Socially distancing from Mother Earth

Culture Matters

“WE HAVE bills to pay. Nosotros tenemos que vivir. Hame rahanaa chaahie. Kufanele siphile. Nous devons vivre. We hadda live.”

Regardless of where human beings live or what language they speak, the coronavirus pandemic has brought the issue of human survival into sharp focus.

Social distancing regulations have caused job losses, distress to small businesses and hardship to families. Ironically, human isolation has also led to the unexpected rejuvenation of our planet.

From Beirut to London and Johannesburg, smog-enveloped cities have literally begun to see blue skies and cleaner air. At home, freshwater fish are returning to once polluted water courses and it is even possible to see the San Fernando Hill from Port of Spain again.

But this reprieve for the environment has been a double-edged sword. During this crisis, the human instinct for survival has also led to intensified negative environmental consequences. Global reports show wildlife increasingly being poached for food.

At home, weeks of lockdown provided the perfect screen for the decimation of about 60 acres (or 45 football fields) of the Ecclesville Windbelt Reserve in Rio Claro, apparently to facilitate the planting of food crops. Not only did this jeopardise surrounding animal habitat, but damaged the very ecosystem that protects citizens from natural disasters.

Covid19 may have improved our toxic air quality, but it has exposed a progressively complex relationship between environmental preservation, health and human survival.

As global scientists work towards finding a cure for covid19, human behaviour towards the environment will come under additional scrutiny, especially if it is proven that the pandemic was caused by the spread of pathogens from animals to human beings.

Regrettably, as humans consistently encroach on animal habitats, we increase our risk for infection by zoonotic viruses, or diseases that exist in animals but may also infect people. This brings us back to the question of how covid19 originated and the understanding that there are numerous, unknown coronaviruses already existing in animals.

But with global poverty at unsustainable levels before this international health crisis, how realistic is it to expect people to stop cutting down ancient trees, over-hunting lappe and tattoo or setting random fires?

Further, the virus has revealed serious race and class inequities regarding access to basic health services. Even after a vaccine is developed and life resumes a greater semblance of normalcy, how will we balance the often competing areas of human health, survival and the environment?

International data suggests that we urgently need to better align government and economic policy with environmental protection. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that some “three million people die each year from ailments caused by air pollution, and that more than 80 per cent of people living in urban areas are exposed to air quality levels that exceed safe limits.” Some of these illnesses include cancer and heart disease, both worryingly common in TT.

Another significant issue facing us is that human production and consumptive habits are encroaching on and destroying the biodiversity of the planet.

WHO explains that biodiversity “...underpins life on Earth.” It may be understood as an ecosystem comprising plants and animals. “Pollution, climate change, and population growth are all threats to biodiversity. These threats have caused an unprecedented rise in the rate of species extinction.”

Extinction of species is a problem for humans, as this includes numerous plants, many of which are foundations for modern medicine.

So how do we rationalise the need for people to feed their families, economic survival of the nation and protection of the planet on which we depend for life? Punitive measures have had some success in curbing a taste for curried scarlet ibis, but long-term behaviour change requires much more.

It is therefore important that post-covid19 recovery plans feature a strong environmental component. In addition, they should be gender-balanced and have representation from elder practitioners of the arts.

Political and economic systems depend on the consistent engagement of humans to succeed. People need the environment, the arts and culture for their sense of well-being, so recovery plans must place people-oriented solutions at the forefront of their deliberations.

Tomorrow, the coronavirus will wreak havoc with another human ritual – Mother’s Day. As we connect with loved ones through socially distanced screens, we would do well to remember that it was almost certainly human behaviour that brought us to this point. Yes, we all have to live, but to live fully we must socially distance ourselves from the mother we all need – Mother Earth.

Dara E Healy is a performance artist, communications specialist and founder of the NGO, the Indigenous Creative Arts Network – ICAN