Wildlife Migration among World Protected Areas
Wildlife migrates across the globe, which could be a major factor in the spread of the COVID-19. Wildlife migration takes place at short and high distances, both individually and socially, and on a seasonal basis (Dingle & Drake, 2017). For example, avian influenza (H5N1) viruses are due to transmitted between migratory/wild birds and may cause a threat human health (Ahmed et al., 2020; Dhama et al. 2012; Sakoda et al., 2012). Migration distance and population are dependent on several factors such as animal species, ecological niches, suitable habitats, and so on. Therefore, it is not possible to control, manage or prevent wildlife migration. As we enter the summer season, many animals will migrate from hot regions to cold ones in recent months, bringing a new wave of COVID-19 transmission. Many species of wildlife, including birds, mammals, and fishes, also exhibit migratory behaviors, and many are prone to transmitting the COVID-19. On the other hand, this species lives in a variety of habitats, including terrestrial and aquatic habitats, and nowhere in the world will be safe from the risk of COVID-19 transmitting by wildlife migration. However, it is important to note that wildlife migration is occurred between protected areas where is the most important habitat for animals (Rezazadeh et al., 2019; Shirani et al., 2017, Sobhani et al. 2018). More than 238,563 regions have been designated as a protected area by the International Union of Conservation Nature (IUCN) since July 2018 (Figure 1). Most protected areas are terrestrial and cover over 20 million km2 or 14.9% of the earth. On the other hand, marine protected areas are fewer in number but cover more than 6 million km2equivalents to 7.3% of the oceans (UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre & International Union of Conservation Nature , 2018).
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Therefore, managing and controlling protected areas around the world can be a great help in controlling the spread of the COVID-19. There is also a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19 to countries with higher levels of protected areas (Fig2).
There is good evidence that quarantine in different areas that are infected by COVID-19 will lead to control of virus transmission. The protected areas are potentially prone to the transmission of the virus from animal to human. Therefore these areas should be quarantined or fully observed for COVID-19 infection. Unfortunately, only 21,743 protected areas have an effective management report, (20% of protected areas in the World Department of Protected Area (WDPA) (UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre & International Union of Conservation Nature , 2018). This issue limits monitoring and controlling the spread of the COVID-19 in protected areas which is extremely worrying. In the past 10 years, Global Database on Protected Areas Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME) collected data from management effectiveness in 169 countries containing 21,743 different protected areas (UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre & International Union of Conservation Nature , 2018b). However, in figure 3, we see that most protected areas in the world have not been assessed for management effectiveness and this make so hard to manage the COVID-19 infection in these areas. The highest number of fully managed protected areas is found in Europe, where protected areas having been repeatedly assessed (Figure 4). Hence, the control of COVID-19 infection in between wild animals and human is more probable in Europe than other regions. More than 82% of protected areas in the world are managed by government organizations (UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre & International Union of Conservation Nature , 2018). hence governments are the first responsible for COVID-19 infection control in wildlife migratory behaviors in protected areas. Compared to other geographical regions, this ratio has the highest rate in Europe and therefore, EU governments are most responsible for controlling the COVID-19 in these areas.
Connectivity between protected areas is other indicator of COVID-19 transmission. Connectivity of protected area means that wildlife is easily relocated or migrated between these areas, and it is essential to maintain the viability of species, communities and ecosystems (Sadegh oghli et al.,
2019a,b; Haghverdi et al., 2019a,b).. Figure 5 reveals that African countries have the most connected protected areas. It means that wildlife easily can transmit COVID-19 between countries on this continent. The transmission of COVID-19 between animal and human will be facilitated. On the other hand, some regions are wild with low human populations and some regions are occupied by human settlements or human activities (such as farming and energy production); and protected areas are scattered among them. National Geographic Society (NGS) developed a human impact map developing to illustrate the planet’s relatively untouched terrestrial landscapes (Fig 6) (UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre & International Union of Conservation Nature , 2018a). Indeed protected areas in not wild regions are more prone to outbreak COVID-19 between animals and human.