Planetary health & COVID-19: A multi-perspective investigation

• Published in: One health 2022-12, Vol.15, p.100416-100416, Article 100416
• Main Authors: Talukder, Byomkesh, vanLoon, Gary W., Hipel, Keith W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: air pollution; antibiotic resistance; biodiversity; climate change; COVID-19; COVID-19 infection; deforestation; diet; Drivers; globalization; governance; Implications; intensive farming; land use and land cover maps; Planetary health; politics; population growth; poverty; public health; SDGs; sustainable development; trade; urbanization; water stress; wildlife
• ISSN: 2352-7714; 2352-7714
• DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2022.100416

COVID-19 can be characterized as an outcome of degraded planetary health drivers in complex systems and has wide-reaching implications in social, economic and environmental realms. To understand the drivers of planetary health that have influences of emergence and spread of COVID-19 and their implications for sustainability systems thinking and a narrative literature review are deployed. In particular, sixteen planetary health drivers are identified, i.e., population growth, climate change, agricultural intensification, urbanization, land use and land cover change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, globalization, wildlife trade, wet markets, non-planetary health diet, antimicrobial resistance, air pollution, water stress, poverty and weak governance. The implications of COVID-19 for planetary health are grouped in six categories: social, economic, environmental, technological, political, and public health. The implications for planetary health are then judged to see the impacts with respect to sustainable development goals (SDGs). The paper indicates that sustainable development goals are being hampered due to the planetary health implications of COVID-19. •Identified and categorized drivers of planetary health for the emergence and spread of COVID-19.•COVID-19 has implications in six categories of planetary health issues: social, economic, environment, technology, political and public health.•COVID-19's planetary health implications have profound impacts on SDGs.•Holistic measures are required to tackle the implications of COVID-19 for planetary health and SDGs.