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The Global Wildlife Trade Is Fueling the Spread of Viruses

Abatify Summary

Nature & Climate Perspective

**The unregulated wildlife trade destabilizes trophic cascades and ecological health, directly undermining the permanence and integrity of Nature-Based Solutions (NbS). **

  • Biodiversity loss from wildlife extraction disrupts seed dispersal and forest regeneration, weakening the long-term carbon sequestration potential of LULUCF projects.
  • Zoonotic spillover risk acts as a proxy for ecosystem fragmentation, which threatens the 'Permanence' criteria under the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles (CCPs).
  • High pathogen prevalence in traded mammals indicates a breakdown in ecological barriers, reducing the adaptive resilience of habitats against climate-induced stressors.

Market & Policy Outlook

**Rising pandemic risks linked to biodiversity loss are driving a convergence between global health policy and climate finance, necessitating stricter 'One Health' safeguards in carbon markets. **

  • Regulatory shifts are likely to integrate zoonotic risk assessments into Article 6.4 environmental safeguards, increasing the complexity of project validation.
  • Market pricing for high-integrity credits will increasingly favor projects that demonstrate dual-benefit biodiversity protection, aligning with the ICVCM's focus on robust social and environmental co-benefits.
  • Corporate compliance via TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) and SBTi will mandate deeper supply chain transparency regarding biodiversity impact to mitigate systemic biosecurity risks.
Scientists have long known that deadly diseases, from HIV to SARS to Ebola, can begin in animals and spill over to humans. But a new study is the first to quantify the risks from the global trade in wildlife, finding that nearly half of traded mammals share at least one pathogen with humans. Read more on E360 →
Scientists have long known that deadly diseases, from HIV to SARS to Ebola, can begin in animals and spill over to humans. But a new study is the first to quantify the risks from the global trade in wildlife, finding that nearly half of traded mammals share at least one pathogen with humans.Read more on E360 →

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Read full article at Yale Environment 360
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