HOST: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

The zoonotic origins of COVID-19 and countries’ responses to the pandemic raise important questions about the future of protected areas. First, does the threat of future spillover events substantiate calls for stricter separation of nature and people despite repeated and justified criticism of fortress conservation in recent years? Second, how can conservation funding cope with slumps in global wildlife tourism?

This session brings experts from across the globe together to discuss how protected area conservation and wildlife tourism can mitigate risk of future zoonotic outbreaks while simultaneously sustaining livelihoods and securing funding. Following an examination of the pandemic’s early impacts on protected areas, the panel proceed to provide policy recommendations for the upcoming IUCN World Conservation Congress and CBD COP15.