The report builds on the study “Opinion Survey on COVID-19 and Wildlife Trade in 5 Asian Markets” conducted by WWF and GlobeScan in 2020 to understand public attitudes and behaviours regarding COVID-19 and future pandemics.
More than a year after the COVID-19 outbreak, the new data shows that there is a strong understanding that risky human-animal interaction, often connected to deforestation and high-risk wildlife trade, can lead to serious disease outbreaks, with 46% of all participants listing disease transmission from animals to humans as the root cause most likely to trigger future pandemics. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent investigation also points to wildlife as a likely source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, the majority of those surveyed believe that preventing future pandemics begins with addressing root causes, including high-risk wildlife trade and deforestation. People from all five surveyed countries,including Vietnam, China, Myanmar, Thailand and the US, strongly support government efforts to close high-risk markets selling animals from the wild (85%) and stop deforestation (88%). In Vietnam, the agreement rates to these matters are 94% and 95%, respectively.
85% of respondents in all five countries strongly support or support the “One Health” approach to dealing with future pandemics, with the approval rate in Viet Nam being the second highest at 93%. “One Health’ is an approach to designing programs, policies, and legislation where different sectors communicate and work together for better health outcomes across people, animals, plants, and their shared environment, especially for animal health, disease transfer between animals and humans, and combating antibiotic resistance. More specifically, 39% of Vietnamese participants said they are consuming less wildlife or have stopped consuming wildlife because of COVID-19.
“The prevention of pandemics is estimated to cost 100 times less than responding to them. The pandemic has made it blatantly clear that investing in planetary health and nature is the only way to avoid paying such a terrible social and economic price again in the future”, said Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International.
According to Ms. Nguyen Dao Ngoc Van, National IWT Manager of WWF-Vietnam, in July 2020, the Prime Minister of Vietnam issued a directive on Urgent Solutions for Wildlife Management. The government is expected to closely direct the implementation of the directive by rewarding ministries, sectors and regions for good compliance, while strictly handling localities that continue risky practices, she noted.
The report results serve as an important foundation for Vietnam and other countries in the region to consider decisions on closing wildlife markets and closing forests to proactively prevent the COVID-19 pandemic.
WWF is calling on decision makers to include interventions needed to address key drivers of zoonotic disease outbreaks in their pandemic prevention plans. Closing forests and high-risk wildlife markets, for example, will help recover wildlife populations and maintain local and global biodiversity that naturally help regulate disease, as well as help ensure the sustainable use of natural resources.
To support the fight against COVID-19, citizens are highly recommended not to buy, sell or consume wildlife products to prevent pandemics and ensure the safety ofthemselves and the community.
