The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus, initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness.
The lockdowns instigated to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic offered a unique opportunity to assess how restrictions on human activity affect street litter. We recorded daily litter arrival rates for 50 days in two South African cities from the time of strictest lockdown through two successive easings in regulations. The strict lockdown had no marked impact on litter composition, which was dominated by convenience foods and beverages (29% by number, 34% by mass) and tobacco products (33% by number, 3% by mass). The ban on the sale of tobacco products during the lockdown did not greatly reduce the number of cigarette butts and associated packaging. Vehicle parts accounted for <1% of litter items (2% by mass) whereas household waste spilled from bins prior to or during collection accounted for 3% of litter items (14% by mass). Street litter loads decreased roughly by a factor of three during the strict lockdown. The increase in litter was gradual, suggesting a reduction in compliance with regulations as the lockdown continued. Our results show a clear link between human activity levels and littering. Highlights • Street litter loads increased threefold in two cities as COVID lockdowns eased. • Cigarette butts made up 33% of litter by number despite a ban on tobacco sales. • There is a clear link between human activity levels and littering.
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