The unlikely story of the green peafowl

by Nathan Williams, Fauna & Flora International

Credit: Niti Sukumal

We all know that habitat loss is pushing many species to the brink of extinction, with the conversion of forests for agricultural use a particular problem.

While mega-farms converting hundreds of hectares for monocrops are a primary culprit, new research shows that farmed land can, in the right setting, play an important role in supporting threatened forest wildlife.

Once common across Southeast Asia, the green peafowl has been a victim of land use change, as well as intense poaching. Classified on the IUCN Red List as Endangered, this spectacular bird is now absent entirely from much of its former range.

In an agricultural area of central Myanmar, however, the species continues to thrive—and scientists from Fauna & Flora International (FFI) alongside other research partners have now determined why.

Farming practices in Myanmar are changing as traditional subsistence methods are replaced by intensive agriculture techniques, driven by globalisation and a market economy. Despite this, the landscape in many parts of the country retains small fragments of forest, typically around monasteries and temples. These areas tend to be protected by the religious communities who live there and often harbour abundant wildlife populations.

Collaborative green peafowl research

One such fragment is found in the south of Shan State in the eastern part of the country, around the community of Pwe Hla village. Here a unique partnership between a community-run environmental group, Pwe Hla Environmental Conservation and Development—PHECAD, and the Buddhist monks of Nan Kone Buddha Monastery, has afforded protection to the green peafowl living in the surviving forest on the monastery's grounds. It was this area that provided the focus for this research.

A green peafowl looks out from the edge of its forest habitat. Credit: Niti Sukumal

Led by the Conservation Ecology Programme at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (Thailand) and Friends of Wildlife (Myanmar) and assisted by Chester Zoo and FFI, the study set out to determine how the green peafowl responded to the existence of non-intensive subsistence agricultural areas in the close vicinity of its typical forest habitat.

Over the course of a year, the authors determined that four distinct habitat types cover the peafowl's range. Forest fragments dominated by pine and evergreen species are surrounded by areas of scrub, which consist of rocky ground and sparse vegetation. Alongside these are the areas of subsistence agriculture and then finally areas left fallow –uncultivated fields on which no crop is grown.

Cropland as animal feeding ground

As might be expected, the researchers found that the green peafowl prefers forest to the surrounding habitat types, but this is not the full story. Peafowl observations outside of the forest fragments occurred largely within a 300m "buffer zone" near the forest edge. Of the three habitat types within this 300m range, cropland was significantly preferred over scrub and fallow, which came as something of a surprise.

Cropland does not offer any considerable cover to avoid predators, but it is home to the invertebrates that are so crucial for young galliform diets in the first six to eight weeks of life. The researchers determined therefore that the cropland was providing a reliable feeding ground for young birds and adults alike.

Unfortunately the benefit provided by this cropland is under threat from increased use of pesticides as agriculture intensifies in the area. To counter this, local environmental groups are working with the monks to encourage and support sustainable agricultural practices that ensure the cropland remains a sanctuary for the green peafowl.

The unusual story of the green peafowl in Myanmar shows how non-traditional or converted landscapes, when managed properly, can both feed humans and be an ally in the fight against species extinction.

"The importance of isolated forest fragments and low intensity agriculture for the long-term conservation of the green peafowl Pavo muticus" is published in Oryx.

Explore further Forest fragments surprising havens for wildlife
More information: Nay Myo Shwe et al. Importance of isolated forest fragments and low intensity agriculture for the long-term conservation of the green peafowl Pavo muticus, Oryx (2020). DOI: 10.1017/S0030605319000267
Journal information: Oryx


Provided by Fauna & Flora International
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Climate researcher on promise amidst the pandemicby Fariss Samarrai, University of Virginia
\

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

As people suspend travel during this time of social distancing, Earth-observing satellites have recorded a marked reduction in air pollution in regions of the world most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Space Agency recently detected lower levels of nitrogen oxide in northern Italy and China's Hubei province. NASA also has observed temporary drops in the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide over parts of the United States.


It's too early to know if people will change behaviors once the pandemic passes, but some view this as an opportunity to contemplate how our behaviors affect the health of the planet—and our own wellbeing.

Deborah Lawrence, a University of Virginia professor of environmental sciences, studies climate change. Here she offers her thoughts for readers of UVA Today.

Q. Is there possibly a silver lining, as has been suggested, to this reduced use of resources and activities, such as less flying?

A. I find it really hard to see a silver lining. Yes, greenhouse gas emissions are plummeting, but I never wanted to see it happen this way. No one did. The situation we find ourselves in, quite suddenly, is exactly what early, aggressive climate action is meant to avoid: catastrophic damage to our economy.

If we don't act now on climate, meaning the now that begins as we emerge from the pandemic, we will face disaster after disaster, like last year's flooding in the Midwest and in Mozambique, fires in California and Australia, droughts in the southeastern U.S. and in South Africa.

Much as COVID-19 patients overload hospitals, these disasters will pile up on one another, exceeding our ability to cope. Instead of a timeline of weeks, it would be a timeline of months or years. But the pattern will be the same. A series of disasters will sap our ability to respond—logistically, financially and emotionally. Perhaps the silver lining is that we will think ahead.

Q. What can we learn from these events?

A. I hope we can learn two things. First, the data don't lie. I am heartened that every American now knows what that curve looks like—the one we are trying to flatten. Our doctors were looking at the beginning of that curve and knew where it was going. They asked us to join together to do something to stop it. Our leaders listened.

Similarly, the graph of our greenhouse gas emissions should inspire immediate collective action. Climate scientists know that more CO2 means more global warming, and they know we humans have never seen anything like it and that it will seriously harm our economy and our wellbeing. Maybe now, our leaders will listen.


The second thing we can learn is that early, aggressive action can change our outcome. What is true for the virus is true for climate. The sooner we act, the sooner we can flatten the climate curve.

Q. Do you think changed behaviors will outlast this pandemic crisis?

A. I do think we will be changed by this pandemic. We have only just begun to fathom what is happening, so it is hard to know how our behaviors will change.

Without the commute to work or school, we all have extra time in our day—30, 60, 90 minutes or more. What are we doing with it? Some days, I have just been working more. Other days, I devour endless coronavirus updates. Those are not behaviors I want to continue. I want my days to have meaning—the hours I've always had, and the extra time I now have. I would like to spend more time being with the people I love and being in nature. I would like to change the world. For me, that means figuring out what it takes to build a better climate future. None of that is really different from what I wanted before the pandemic. But maybe this time is different. Maybe now each of us can really, really reflect on the way we do everything—individually and as a community.

I am interested in what we'll do, but I am more interested in who we'll be. Will we be kinder? We are so far. Will this bring us together? I hope so. Maybe then we can tackle the big issues, including climate change.

In an email the other day, a student asked, "What does this mean about individuals' capacity to rapidly change their lifestyles for the greater good?" She sees something. We are doing things differently, we are making sacrifices, and we are doing it fast because we know it matters.

She added, "What will our economy look like after this, what is the potential to rebuild a global economy through teaming up around climate?" With the economy already disrupted, it will be difficult to argue that changing to a cleaner, greener path is too disruptive. As the pandemic grows, our experts have been guiding us and comforting us. We trust them, and we need them. As we rebuild the economy, I hope we listen to the experts who say our health and safety are at risk due to global warming. We can make lifestyle choices, we can make sacrifices, but we can't make our own energy and infrastructure. We rely on our governments for that. As we rebuild our economy, we need to hold them accountable.

Q. What do you recommend that we do as individuals and societies to behave more sustainably into the future?

A. Right now, it is hard to ask individual people to prioritize sustainability when we are all struggling to adjust and survive. Taking care of ourselves and each other seems like the top priority. Perhaps, as we think about this crisis that is afflicting every country on the planet, we can find room to ponder global warming.

Until now, we have never seen a global disaster. Global warming is a global disaster. Like the pandemic, it will affect all of us. Behaving sustainably means acting on what we can see coming, or trusting the experts and acting on what they see coming. As a society, we will have choices to make as we rebuild. We need to use our collective voices to make sure the choices lead to a safer future.


Explore furtherCOVID-19: Economic slowdown doesn't stop climate change
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Europe and African relations post COVID-19: Time to add size, scale and speed

by Carlos Lopes, The Conversation

Satellite imagery of Africa. Credit: Public Domain

Since 2000, European and African leaders have been talking about giving the partnership between the two continents a "new strategic" dimension. In 2007, they reiterated their ambition to come together "in awareness of the lessons and experiences of the past, but also in the certainty that our common future requires an audacious approach."

Why then, despite such good intentions, have they fallen so far behind?

The financial crisis of 2008, protracted Brexit negotiations, the EU's fragmented approach in its engagement with Africa and the reluctance in certain quarters to recognize the leadership role of the African Union have all exacted a toll. And now there's the coronavirus cyclone.

A new partnership is important for Africa and Europe alike. The entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the world's largest free-trade area by number of countries, can provide investment opportunities for European business.

But Europe needs to realise that 2020 is bringing a new reality. It is no longer possible to do business as usual after COVID-19. The time is ripe to put an end to dialogue fatigue and cynicism about new unilateral European initiatives, each one announced with pomp and circumstance.

Instead, EU-Africa relations should be guided by an instrument that frames the continent-to-continent partnership clearly, with joint governance and agreed goals and targets. Serious negotiations should take place when COVID-19 offers a respite.

Opportunities and dangers

The EU likes to emphasize that it is Africa's largest trading and investment partner and its top aid provider, but that position is declining fast.

Nor is it a one-way street. Africa is Europe's third-largest trading partner, after the US and China, but ahead of either Japan or India. Africa's youthful population can be a problem but also a unique opportunity given Europe's aging population.

There are dangers too. The spread of conflicts in the Sahel, reinforcement of terrorist networks and human trafficking in Africa signal growing threats that both continents need to address.

Climate action is a priority and an area made for multilateral cooperation. As we know better now, health conditions everywhere protect more anywhere.

Fortunately, there is a renewed sense of urgency from the EU. The administration of Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European commission, has prioritized relations with Africa. She recently visited Addis Ababa, seat of the AU, accompanied by 22 European commissioners, the largest such a delegation ever. And an EU African strategy was announced this month. The AU is formulating its own strategy towards Europe too.

The periphery post COVID-19

The world faces its worst economic contraction since the Great Depression. Trillions of dollars in stimulus packages will certainly revive the central economies. But the peripherical ones will face a different scale of challenges.

The geostrategic dynamics, particularly the increased international interest in the continent that was demonstrated—not only by China, but from the Gulf States and the likes of India, UAE, Russia and Turkey—are bound to be deeply affected by the coronavirus crisis. In this context, African countries are openly speaking of the need to give substance to the partnership with Europe and for it to show "deliverables", turning the rhetoric heard since 2000 into more tangible action.

To be fair, many voices in Europe say the same.

Giving substance means moving beyond the tendency of listing the areas of cooperation around which the continents can cooperate, the usual shopping list approach. In fact, EU-AU common priorities are straightforward. Cooperation around issues such as peace and security, trade and investment, climate change, human mobility or education are key and have been given significant European resources in the past. What was often controversial were the approaches to tackle them. We can now add size, scale and speed to the debate.

Stimulus packages in central economies will certainly provoke higher risk for the countries that cannot afford the same. With depressed prices for most of its major commodities and shrinking demand resulting from a production halt, Africa will be facing a perfect storm. Its internal demand will contract, its informal sector collapse, most major players looking for scarce bridge financing and governments struggling with a $44 billion debt servicing in 2020, while facing the most adverse fiscal environment of the last 20 years.

This is the time Europe's new approach towards Africa can show its teeth. The solidarity required to combat a pandemic seems obvious to scientists and most pundits. But it has been challenged even inside the EU. Will the space to look even beyond the European borders be there to comfort the strategic southern neighbor?

Most agreements engaging the EU with various configurations of African countries and the African Union expire this year. Another reminder it is time to turn the page. These are all signs of changing winds. The time for talk is over.

West Africa clamps down on borders as coronavirus cases rise

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Provided by The Conversation 

Virus-linked fraud schemes cost US consumers nearly $5 mn

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Coronavirus-related fraud schemes are rising fast and have cost US consumers some $4.77 million so far, a government watchdog said Tuesday.

The Federal Trade Commission said it had more than 7,800 coronavirus-related reports from consumers as of Monday, double the number from a week earlier.

The consumer protection agency said the fraud complaints include emails about travel and vacation cancellations and refunds, online shopping scams and government and business imposter schemes.

Many of the schemes were also being perpetrated by mobile text or robo-calls, the FTC said.

The median loss for consumers was $598.

The potential for fraud could rise further, notably as a result of the $2 trillion stimulus approved by Congress this month.

The FTC warned consumers earlier in March to expect scammers to ask for a social security number, which could be used for identity theft, or to pay an upfront fee to qualify for stimulus payments.

"The government will not ask you to pay anything up front to get this money," the FTC said in a statement.

"No fees. No charges. No nothing."

US hits dating operator over 'fake love interest' messages

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© 2020 AFP

Those without broadband struggle in a stuck-at-home nation

by Tali Arbel and Michael Casey

Julie Dolan, chair of her town's Broadband Committee, poses with her computer on the steps of her family's rural home in Sandwich, N.H., Thursday, March 26, 2020. In the town of 1,200 best known as the setting for the movie "On Golden Pond," broadband is scarce. Forget streaming Netflix, much less working or studying from home. Even the police department has trouble uploading its reports. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

In Sandwich, New Hampshire, a town of 1,200 best known as a setting for the movie "On Golden Pond," broadband is scarce. Forget streaming Netflix, much less working or studying from home. Even the police department has trouble uploading its reports.

Julie Dolan, a 65-year-old retiree in Sandwich, has asthma. Her husband has high blood pressure. Dolan doubts her substandard home internet could manage a remote medical appointment, and these days no one wants to visit the doctor if they can help it. That leaves 19th-century technology—her landline phone. "That is all I would have," she says.

As schools, workplaces and public services shut down in the age of coronavirus, online connections are keeping Americans in touch with vital institutions and each other. But that's not much of an option when fast internet service is hard to come by.

Although efforts to extend broadband service have made progress in recent years, tens of millions of people are still left out, largely because phone and cable companies hesitate to invest in far-flung rural areas. Government subsidies in the billions haven't fully fixed the problem.

Many more simply can't afford broadband. U.S. broadband costs more than in many comparable countries—an average of $58 a month compared to $46.55 across 29 nations, according to a 2018 Federal Communications Commission report.

Such disconnected people "already have to work harder to tread water," said Chris Mitchell, who advocates for community broadband service at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. "I don't think people appreciated the magnitude of the problem."

Even in cities, the high cost of internet access means many go without. Low-cost local alternatives such as libraries and cafes have shut down.

In St. Louis, Stella Ashcraft, 63, lives from check to check and can't afford internet. Her senior center, where she plays bingo, does puzzles and gets lunch five days a week, is closed. So is her church and the library where she checks email. She's gotten texted photos of her newborn grandchild, but forget about a Zoom call to see the baby.

"I feel very withdrawn, isolated, alone," she said.

There are no definitive numbers on those without broadband. The FCC puts the number at 21 million, but its data is faulty and most likely undercounts the problem. An independent group called BroadbandNow pegs it at 42 million. The digital divide disproportionately affects rural areas, African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans on tribal lands.


Phone and cable companies have pledged not to cut people off if they can't pay bills and opened their Wi-Fi hotspots to the public. Some are expanding low-cost programs for poor people and lifting data caps so more people can get and stay connected.

Millions of Americans working from home are learning to use online video in place of face-to-face meetings, but that's not an option for those with only a trickle of data service.

Ashley Bullard, left, sits on the porch of her family's rural home in North Sandwich, N.H., as her daughters Raven, center, a senior in high school, and Willow, right, a freshman at Brandeis University, try to complete their classwork from home during the virus outbreak on a very limited internet connection, Thursday, March 26, 2020. In the town of 1,200 best known as the setting for the movie "On Golden Pond," broadband is scarce. Forget streaming Netflix, much less working or studying from home. Even the police department has trouble uploading its reports. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Brie Morrissey, who owns a building outfitted with broadband in Dublin, New Hampshire, would prefer to maintain social distance by working from home. But she keeps heading into the office for the connection, and as a result, is constantly cleaning the place—wiping down door knobs, the bathroom sinks and "every inch of the building," she says.

Morrissey avoids other tenants and won't rent space to anyone else. Most people recover from the virus, but the elderly and those with underlying conditions are more likely to get seriously ill or die.

"I have to tell people to stay home and that we can't accommodate them, which is a hard thing to do for a small business owner in a small town," she said. "You obviously want to help. But following guidelines means for the most part we can't."

Students, meanwhile, struggle with a "homework gap" when they can't get or submit assignments, much less watch online lectures or participate in discussions. Online schoolwork is now the norm, but the millions of students who don't have home internet or access to computers at home require creative solutions as schools shut down.

In rural western Alabama, less than 1% of Perry County's roughly 9,100 residents have high-quality internet at home, so online lessons are out. County teachers spent three days manually loading scanned images of math worksheets and other materials on to iPads and Chromebooks for the system's 1,100 students to take home while out of class, said Superintendent John Heard.

A New York City family shelter has no Wi-Fi and 175 school-age children, only 15 of whom have laptops. City schools are sending some kids tablets equipped with internet service. But Estrella Montanez, who runs the shelter, worries that kids will have trouble managing remote work.

"Many families are not so tech-savvy," she said.

Lawmakers want the federal government to send schools and libraries more money to lend out Wi-Fi hotspots to students. But the FCC says it's not authorized to do that under current law and is discussing a solution with Congress.

On Navajo Nation, the country's largest Native American reservation, it's common to see people sitting in their vehicles at night outside local government centers, fast-food restaurants and grocery stores to connect to Wi-Fi. Diné College is lending laptops to students and asking internet providers to improve service.

Digital-access advocates hope that this crisis propels the government to do more to get people connected. In some places, relief was expected later this year. But that's too late to help with the current crisis.

A cable company is supposed to start servicing Berkshires town Peru, Massachusetts, later this year. State Rep. Paul Mark has only satellite internet now, though, and that doesn't let him videoconference. Even Facebook video is a strain. And, like many others in his area, he also has unreliable mobile service at home. To help his constituents, he has to get in his car and drive around to get on calls and go on local TV and radio.

"It's a hassle," he said during a recent phone interview from his car as he drove to the Boston statehouse. Then the line went dead.

Explore furtherSchool shutdowns raise stakes of digital divide for students

© 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Walmart to begin temperature checks of workers

Walmart will begin taking the temperature of its US workers, mirroring a practice that is now widespread in China as it responds to coronavirus

Walmart announced Tuesday it will begin taking the temperatures of workers at stores and warehouse facilities in the United States as it fortifies its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Workers with a temperature of 100 degrees fahrenheit will be paid and not allowed to return to work until they are fever-free for at least three days, Walmart said in a blog post.

Walmart, the world's biggest retailer and the nation's biggest employer, has previously said that it would guarantee workers up to two weeks of pay if they get the coronavirus or if their store or distribution center is closed by a government agency.

The company, which has more than 5,300 stores in the United States, said it is sending infrared thermometers to all locations, which could take up to three weeks.

Images from China of temperature checks outside of restaurants and stores have been a mainstay of the coronavirus outbreak.

Some observers believe the practice could become widespread in the United States as well once the outbreak is better managed and the country begins to ramp its economy back up.

Walmart will also make gloves and face masks available to workers who desire them "as supplies permit," the company said.

"The masks will arrive in one-two weeks," Walmart said. "They will be high-quality masks, but not N95 respirators—which should be reserved for at-risk healthcare workers."

On Monday, Amazon warehouse employees and Instacart delivery workers joined protests seeking better safeguards against the virus and guaranteed paid leaveUber provides free meals, discounted rides for health care workers

Coronavirus crisis could trigger relapse among those fighting addiction

The social distancing and isolation of the coronavirus pandemic may put people struggling with addiction at risk for relapse, an expert says.

Feeling stressed, isolated and scared may drive them back to substance abuse, said Dr. Lawrence Brown Jr., CEO of the nonprofit START Treatment & Recovery Centers, New York's largest independent drug treatment agency.

"Whatever structures used to maintain sobriety by people with substance-use issues tend to fall away in a pandemic," Brown said in a START news release.

"People who have lost proximity to support systems, programs and relationships that help them stay sober may be tempted to self-medicate in order to deal with stress, anxiety and isolation," he explained.

"In addition to substance-use disorders, many people are grappling with mental health issues and co-morbidities, including HIV, hepatitis C, hypertension [high blood pressure] and diabetes, that put them at higher risk for COVID-19," Brown added.

He offered advice for people struggling with drug or alcohol addiction during the coronavirus pandemic.

It's important to maintain relationships. Even when they're challenging, family and friends provide comfort and security, and hearing words like "I love you," "I miss you," and "I need you," can be therapeutic, Brown said.

If you're in a treatment program, engaging more substantially will provide you with even greater protection. If you have a history of mental illness or substance abuse, take advantage of any prior resources to help you through this stressful time, Brown said.

If you can't go to a meeting or counseling session in-person, find out if there are other options such as tele-mental health or other distance counseling.

Many employers are offering resources to help people cope when working from home, and many states are offering additional mental health services to help people cope with the stress of the pandemic and stay-at-home orders, Brown noted.

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website has information about mental health providers in every state.

If you do slip, don't think of it as a failure. Rather, strive to identify what triggered the slip and, most importantly, forgive yourself, Brown said.

Masking power in the age of contagion: China in the wake of coronavirus

by Haiqing Yu and Michael Keane, The Conversation

Credit: Shutterstock

China has gradually emerged out of its shadow of despair as the epicenter where the coronavirus pandemic started. Now, there is face saving required—as well as agenda-setting in the global power play.

China played a decisive role in combating the invisible enemy. Chinese officials and academics are taking this opportunity to rescript the narrative and place China as the new world leader.

In the quest for this leadership, China seems to be playing the game of "white face" (friendly face) and "red face" (hostile face). Similar to the Western concept of good cop/bad cop, white face and red face uses seemingly opposing actions to achieve a singular goal.

The red face is Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman who suggested the virus originated in the US and was brought to Wuhan by American soldiers.

The white face is providing medical supplies to countries now battling the pandemic, gestures of goodwill described as "mask diplomacy" or "medical diplomacy".

By understanding the context for these donations, we can understand a lot about how China embeds symbolism within its soft power diplomacy.

Guarding life

Chinese people have a long history of wearing masks as protection from disease, chemical warfare, pollution, and severe weather. As early as the 13th century, court servants would cover their noses and mouths with a silk cloth when bringing food to the emperor.

As China increasingly encountered foreign powers through Treaty Ports at the turn of the 20th century, disease control became a critical concern. Despite the long legacy of traditional medicine, China was seen as an unhygienic place by the Western occupiers of these ports.

China's opening to the West in 1978 led to a greater awareness of hygiene. The Chinese word for hygiene weisheng (literally "guarding life") was incorporated by health reformers in numerous applications, from wooden disposable chopsticks to toilet paper.

In China, not wearing masks in the current health crisis is seen as unhygienic, irresponsible, and even transgressive. Punitive measures are taken by authorities, with non-mask-wearers publicly shamed and humiliated on Chinese social media.

In the West, masks have been widely viewed with suspicion. The official advice from Australian health authorities is if you are not sick, don't wear masks.

This has lead to anxiety and discontent among Chinese Australians, frustrated by what they see as bad advice. The general public attitude toward mask wearers compounds the problem as Chinese Australians are unfairly targeted with racist slurs.

International diplomacy

At the height of the Wuhan outbreak, government, private companies and individual citizens in Japan donated thousands of masks. But more significant than the masks was the symbolism. Emblazoned on cargo boxes from the Japan Youth Development Association were Chinese characters reading "Lands apart, sky shared," a line from an ancient Chinese poem.

A month later, the Jack Ma Foundation reciprocated with a large donation of masks to Japan, with a quote from the same poem: "Stretching before you and me are the same mountain ranges; let's face the same wind and rain together."

Millions of masks and thousands of testing kits are being sent overseas, coordinated and endorsed by Chinese government organisations and taking place at the government-to-government level; by the private sector through companies and charity foundations; and by individuals helping their overseas friends.

Mask diplomacy is part of China's new dual level power play: aiding to foreign countries to regain face and demonstrate its role as a responsible global power; and sharing conspiracy theories about the origins of the virus to attack the opponent.

China is being aided in this messaging by inefficiency of the US in handling the crisis. By finger pointing at the US, some say China is hoping to "distract from domestic government incompetence."

This effort to rewrite the virus narrative through mask diplomacy is a strategic gambit to claim the moral high ground and assert international power.

Changing faces

Perhaps a clue to what is now unfolding comes from the world of theatre.

In Chinese Sichuan opera, the performer magically changes masks. A skilled performer can accomplish ten mask changes in 20 seconds. This is one of the great accomplishments of Chinese culture, part of its soft power arsenal. The term used in Chinese, bianlian (literally "changing face"), however, is also a synonym for suddenly turning hostile.

China may have dodged a bullet. But if the pandemic spirals further out of control, China will have a lot more work to do to deliver its charm offensive.

The next few months will be crucial. Much of the global leadership in this global warfare will depend on the US, with its own president appearing to change face at any moment.

Power in the age of global contagion requires more than the dual faces of white and red. The world needs healing, and so the Chinese government will need to carefully moderate its propaganda. Triumphalism over the success of its own military-style control strategies and finger pointing at others may evoke blowback in the theatre of geopolitics.


Explore further Chinese plane with a million masks lands in Prague

Provided by The Conversation

The new coronavirus emerged from the global wildlife trade – and may be devastating enough to end it
by George Wittemyer, The Conversation

Coat made of pangolin scales, on display at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The coat was given to King George III in 1820, along with a helmet also made with pangolin scales. Credit: Gaius Cornelius/WikipediaCOVID-19 is one of countless emerging infectious diseases that are zoonotic, meaning they originate in animals. About 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, accounting for billions of illnesses and millions of deaths annually across the globe.


When these diseases spill over to humans, the cause frequently is human behaviors, including habitat destruction and the multibillion-dollar international wildlife trade—the latter being the suspected source of the novel coronavirus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments to impose severe restrictions, such as social distancing, that will have massive economic costs. But there has been less discussion about identifying and changing behaviors that contribute to the emergence of zoonotic diseases. As a conservation biologist, I believe this outbreak demonstrates the urgent need to end the global wildlife trade.

Markets for disease

As many Americans now know, the COVID-19 coronavirus is one of a family of coronaviruses commonly found in bats. It is suspected to have passed through a mammal, perhaps pangolins – the most-trafficked animal on the planet—before jumping to humans.

The virus's spillover to humans is believed to have occurred in a so-called wet market in China. At these markets, live, wild-caught animals, farm-raised wild species and livestock frequently intermingle in conditions that are unsanitary and highly stressful for the animals. These circumstances are ripe for infection and spillover.

The current outbreak is just the latest example of viruses jumping from animals to humans. HIV is perhaps the most infamous example: It originated from chimps in central Africa and still kills hundreds of thousands of people annually. It likely jumped to humans through consumption of bushmeat, or meat from wildlife, which is also the likely origin of several Ebola oubreaks. PREDICT, a U.S.-funded nonprofit, suggests there are thousands of viral species circulating in birds and mammals that pose a direct risk to humans.

Smuggled leopard skin and ivory seized at New Orleans International Airport, Feb. 17, 2017. Credit: USFWS

Decimating wildlife and humans


Trade in wildlife has decimated populations and species for millennia and is one of the five key drivers of wildlife declines. People hunt and deal in animals and animal parts for food, medicine and other uses. This commerce has an estimated value of US$18 billion annually just in China, which is believed to be the largest market globally for such products.

My own work focuses on African and Asian elephants, which are severely threatened by the wildlife trade. Demand for elephant ivory has caused the deaths of more than 100,000 elephants in the last 15 years.

Conservationists have been working for years to end the wildlife trade or enforce strict regulations to ensure that it is conducted in ways that do not threaten species' survival. Initially, the focus was on stemming the decline of threatened species. But today it is evident that this trade also harms humans.

For example, conservation organizations estimate that more than 100 rangers are killed protecting wildlife every year, often by poachers and armed militias targeting high-value species such as rhinos and elephants. Violence associated with the wildlife trade affects local communities, which typically are poor and rural.

The wildlife trade's disease implications have received less popular attention over the past decade. This may be because bushmeat trade and consumption targets less-charismatic species, provides a key protein source in some communities and is a driver of economic activity in some remote rural areas.

Will China follow through?

In China, wild animal sales and consumption are deeply embedded culturally and represent an influential economic sector. Chinese authorities see them as a key revenue generator for impoverished rural communities, and have promoted national policies that encourage the trade despite its risks.

Basketball star Yao Ming has campaigned for over a decade to dissuade Chinese consumers from buying wildlife products.

In 2002-2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS—a disease caused by a zoonotic coronavirus transmitted through live wildlife markets—emerged in China and spread to 26 countries. Then as now, bats were a likely source.

In response, the Chinese government enacted strict regulations designed to end wildlife trade and its associated risks. But policies later were weakened under cultural and economic pressure.

Now repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic are driving faster, stronger reforms. China has announced a temporary ban on all wildlife trade and a permanent ban on wildlife trade for food. Vietnam's prime minister has proposed a similar ban, and other neighboring countries are under pressure to follow this lead.

Conservation scientists are hearing rumors that wildlife markets on China's borders—which often sell endangered species whose sale is banned within China—are collapsing as the spread of coronavirus cuts into tourism and related commerce. Similarly, there are reports that in Africa, trade in pangolin and other wildlife products is shrinking in response to coronavirus fears.

However, I worry that these changes won't last. The Chinese government has already stated that its initial bans on medicinal wildlife products and wildlife products for non-consumption are temporary and will be relaxed in the future.

This is not sufficient. In my view, terminating the damaging and dangerous trade in wildlife will require concerted global pressure on the governments that allow it, plus internal campaigns to help end the demand that drives such trade. Without cultural change, the likely outcomes will be relaxed bans or an expansion of illegal wildlife trafficking.

Africa has borne the greatest costs from the illegal wildlife trade, which has ravaged its natural resources and fueled insecurity. A pandemic-driven global recession and cessation of tourism will drastically reduce income in wildlife-related industries. Poaching will likely increase, potentially for international trade, but also for local bushmeat markets. And falling tourism revenues will undercut local support for protecting wild animals.

On top of this, if COVID-19 spreads across the continent, Africa could also suffer major losses of human life from a pandemic that could have started in an illegally traded African pangolin.

Like other disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to implement solutions that will ultimately benefit humans and the planet. I hope one result is that nations join together to end the costly trade and consumption of wildlife.


Explore furtherCovid-19 pandemic puts illegal wildlife trade in the spotlight
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Lived poverty rises in Africa for the first time in a decade

by University of Strathclyde, Glasgow


'Lived poverty' has increased in Africa for the first time in a decade, according to an international study led at the University of Strathclyde.


The Afrobarometer survey found that a decade of steady improvement in the living conditions of the average African person came to a halt between 2016 and 2018.

Lived poverty—measured as the frequency with which people are without basic necessities such as food, clean water, health care, heating fuel and cash income—was more likely to occur in rural areas and less likely in nations which had seen long periods of democratic government and had established infrastructure.

The study identifies commitment to democracy as a key to tackling poverty.

Professor Robert Mattes, of Strathclyde's School of Government & Public Policy, co-founder and senior adviser of Afrobarometer, produced a report on its latest study.

He said: "People who live in countries that have institutionalised, free and fair, multiparty elections and provide a wide matrix of rights and liberties are less likely to experience destitution. People who live in communities where the state has installed key development infrastructure such as paved roads, electricity grids, and piped-water systems are also less likely to go without basic necessities.

The study conducted interviews with more than 45,000 people in 34 African nations. They were asked how often, if at all, in the past year they had gone without:
enough food to eat
enough clean water for home use
medicines or medical treatment
enough fuel to cook food
a cash income.

Responses options offered were: "never"; "just once or twice"; "several times"; "many times" and "always."

More than half of the respondents—53% - had faced shortages of medicine or medical services at least once in the previous year, while just under half had been short of clean water or food (47%). More than three-quarters—79% - faced a lack of access to cash income, the most commonly reported form of deprivation.

The survey found that people rarely experienced deprivation in Mauritius but the average person had gone without several basic necessities several times in the preceding year in Guinea and Gabon. In general, lived poverty was found to be highest in Central and West Africa and lowest in North Africa.

Lived poverty also varied widely within societies, endured far more frequently than those who live in suburbs and cities.

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African people's experiences and evaluations of quality of life, governance, and democracy. Seven rounds of surveys have been completed since 1999.

Despite growth reports, Africa mired in poverty

Provided by University of Strathclyde, Glasgow