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All the newsRecommended reading: looking back on the global Covid-19 crisis
An unknown virus, soon labelled SARS-CoV-2, emerged in Wuhan (Province of Hubei, China) at the end of 2019, and quickly shook the entire planet within only a few weeks. The crisis became global and the shock was radical: in addition to the impact on health, the economic, societal and political repercussions were immense
Our certitudes regarding a specific mode of development and inter-governmental cooperation became doubts and our relationship with nature was called into question. Why? Because the causes of this infectious disease, propagated due to proximity with an animal reservoir, can be found in the environmental disturbances caused by human activities. It must be remembered that human beings, animals, and natural elements like rivers and forests, form a single, living reality.
The latest world news seen by IFGR
Enriched by the diversity of its members, and strengthened by the genuine conviction that drives it regarding the links between human health and that of habitats, Initiatives for the Future of Great Rivers (IFGR) aims to give its own interpretations of events and points to directions for the future. Using the form of a logbook, from March to June 2020 we asked our Rivers Committee and partners to express their thoughts. Their contributions – and prestigious signatures – are gathered here in this small volume by theme, and underscore every facet of the crisis.
The Amazon, at the heart of a health crisis
By way of a supplement, we recommend an account published on 25 July in the New York Times : « The Amazon, Giver of Life, Unleashes the Pandemic ». It gives an account of the crisis occurring in South America in indigenous communities struck by the virus and living along the River Amazon. The river accelerates its transmission in spite of itself, via dugouts, fishing canoes and other craft. The six cities most affected in Brazil are located in the Amazon basin. Difficulties of access to conduct screening and provide healthcare, shortcomings in governmental aid, etc.: already weakened by the damage done their environment, indigenous populations have been the most exposed.
