Erica van de Waal among 120 scientists urging policymakers to prevent further pandemics

Branco Weiss Fellow Erica van de Waal is among 120 signatories to an open letter of Swiss scientists, titled “The next pandemic is foreseeable – It is time to take the ecological crisis seriously”, that was sent to the two Presidents of the Swiss parliamentary chambers, and to the Swiss government.

The signatories urge policymakers to act promptly on the underlying factors in this dramatic pandemic to prevent these or similar pandemics from happening again. As an important step, the scientists recommend taking innovative measures to counter climate change, to protect biodiversity, tropical forests, and other natural habitats on land and in water, and to promote more respectful land use, as well as an economy that allows humanity to significantly reduce its ecological footprint.

The letter was published in three Swiss journals: Le Temps (French), Corriere del Ticino (Italian), and Tages-Anzeiger (German).

Read the letter on Le Temps (in French)

Read the letter on Tages-Anzeiger (in German)