The Positive and Negative Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Natural Environment in the World
The Positive and Negative Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Natural Environment in the World

Summary/Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented impact on global socio-economic processes by threatening billions of people’s lives and health. In order to prevent the spread of dangerous disease, the national governments had imposed movement restrictions, which seriously limited people’s social life, economic activities, travelling, etc. Aside from a number of socio-economic effects caused by COVID-19, the viral disease also imposed its impact on the environment. This study presents the impact of the COVID-19 disease on the natural environment divided by positive and negative effects. The first group encompasses the following: the reduction of air pollution; the reduction of water pollution; the reduction of noise pollution; the decrease of energy and water consumption; and the ecological restoration of tourist destinations. In its turn, the negative effects include the following: the increase of biomedical waste generation; the increase of safety equipment use; the increase of food waste; and the challenges regarding the implementation of environmental initiatives. The results of this study demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic has an enormous impact on the natural environment, however it is too early to claim which kind of influence – positive or negative – prevails in this impact.

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