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Sustainably managing peatlands — peat-swamp forests found around the tropics — can protect humans from future pandemics, according to a new study.

Peatlands

Peatlands are terrestrial wetland ecosystems in which waterlogged conditions prevent plant material from fully decomposing. Consequently, the production of organic matter exceeds its decomposition, which results in a net accumulation of peat.

• These were rich in biodiversity, including many potential vertebrate and invertebrate vectors, or carriers of disease.
• These included numerous vertebrates known to represent a risk of spreading zoonotic disease, such as bats, rodents, pangolins and primates. 
• Zoonotic diseases are those that jump from animals to humans.
• How?

There are several examples which shows that pandemics originate from peatlands

• The first reported case of Ebola in 1976 was from a peatland area, as was the most recent outbreak in May 2020, it noted.
• The cradle of the HIV/AIDS pandemic was believed to be around Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, another area with extensive peatlands.
• High densities of domestic and semi-wild animals reared on peatlands could also serve as a direct or indirect zoonotic EID vector to humans.

Sustainable Management

• Sustainably managing tropical peatlands and their wildlife was important for mitigating the impacts of the ongoing novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
• The move would also help in reducing the potential for future zoonotic EID emergence and severity.

Source: DownToEarth