Over 20 countries found weakening environmental protection during pandemic (3-11-21)

Over 20 countries found weakening environmental protection during pandemic

The Straits Times / Thomson Reuters Foundation

3-11-21

At least 22 countries enacted or proposed changes during the coronavirus pandemic that weaken environmental regulation, endangering protected areas around the globe, according to a research paper published on Thursday (March 11).

Brazil, India and the United States are the hot spots of Covid-19-era rollbacks, said the paper, part of a wider report published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on how protected areas were affected by the pandemic.

“During a time when all eyes were obviously on Covid-19… you had governments reducing budgets or weakening environmental protection,” said Ms Mariana Napolitano Ferreira, head of science at WWF Brazil and one of 150 researchers who wrote the report.

Read more: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/over-20-countries-found-weakening-environmental-protection-during-covid-19-pandemic