Impact of COVID19 on Environment and Human Behaviour

 

COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our lives in many ways. Though many questions – such as How the virus originated? What causes its spread? What medication would provide an effective cure? are still lacking an answer, yet, the crisis has silently answered a long-pending question –'what is the impact of human activity on the environment?'. Many of us have seen how the environment spurred into action and liveliness as human activity was reduced to a near 'zero' during the lockdown. The message was loud and clear – we have imposed a heavy burden on Nature's resources for quite some time now. Click here to view the complete report.

 

COVID pandemic has brought before us a few events and experiences that convey a powerful message about the environment we live in. We heard, read, and saw about the freedom which animal species started enjoying just within fifteen days into the lockdown. We heard the animated chirping of birds grow louder in the morning; we read in newspapers how Olive Ridley turtles arrived in record numbers at beaches in Orissa; we saw on television how wild animals roamed freely on roads in Noida and adjoining areas. All these events show the devastating impact that human activity has had on the environment. 

Another significant impact of the pandemic is the lockdown imposed by the government. During the lockdown, we were forced to stay at home to prevent contagion. In the process, we learned many new ways to make ourselves comfortable and continue our work. Our group agrees that a lockdown is not an affordable solution to our environmental problems; however, it can bring about some changes in our behavior that can go a long way in dealing with environmental issues. 

In this project, we ask - "Will the experiences learnt during lockdown bring some changes in our behavior? If yes, then how will it impact our environment?" For example, technology has made it possible to get in touch with people from very distant locations. 

As students, we had the first-hand experience of on-line video conferencing technology, which could connect 160 students with our teachers for seamless on-line classes. Many companies are using this technology to cut down on travel time and flight expenses. When more and more people prefer to work from home, it will reduce the daily traffic chaos, vehicular pollution, and the need for bigger offices - which will minimize the load on the environment. Our study is focused on the NCR region. 

Our conceptual framework is divided into five sub-themes that came into the spotlight during the lock down - Air, wildlife, aquatic life, birds and water. Our respondents are restricted to the NCR region as it is the focus area of our study.

Our 30-item on-line survey-questionnaire collects responses on each of the 5 sub-themes, which helps us to assess how people think about the environment and what changes they would make or advocate when the threat of COVID subsides. The questionnaire responses are taken on a 4 point scale. We received 110 responses. 

The recommendations, based on the study, focus on individual willingness, and corporate and government policies that can help in reducing the damaging effects of human activity. 

Team Vasudha, Class VII-C

AIS Noida