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CHANS-Law: preventing the next pandemic through the integration of social and environmental law

Author

Listed:
  • Kirsten Davies

    (University of New England Law School
    Macquarie University)

  • Michelle Lim

    (Macquarie University)

  • Tianbao Qin

    (Research Institute of Environmental Law (RIEL)
    Wuhan University
    China Society of Environmental and Resources Law)

  • Philip Riordan

    (Wildlife Without Borders
    University of Southampton
    Marwell Wildlife)

Abstract

Zoonotic viruses have sacrificed hundreds of millions of people throughout human history. There are currently 1.7 million unidentified viruses estimated to be circulating in mammal and bird populations. It is foreseeable that in the near future, another of these will transmit to people, heralding the start of the next pandemic—one potentially more deadly than COVID-19. At the core of this article is a call for pre-emptive protection of the natural environment and its regenerative systems as the first fundamental step in the prevention of future epidemics and pandemics. While zoonoses originate in nature, the predominant legal discipline, managing these crises, is international health law which is invoked reactively once an outbreak has been reported. In this paper, we identify the need for a legal shift in epidemic and pandemic responses. In particular, we call for the incorporation of international environmental agreements to prevent the initial viral spillover from animal to human populations. We propose a strategy of strengthening existing agreements and a coupling of legal disciplines, such as health and environmental law, emphasizing the need for synergies across legal disciplines to enhance the emergence and management of future pandemics and epidemics. We introduce Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS) Law to frame the required integration across legal instruments to regulate inextricably human-nature connections and advocate for the development of a Convention on Epidemics and Pandemics.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirsten Davies & Michelle Lim & Tianbao Qin & Philip Riordan, 2022. "CHANS-Law: preventing the next pandemic through the integration of social and environmental law," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 577-597, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:22:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10784-022-09566-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10784-022-09566-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Martin J. Bunch, 2016. "Ecosystem Approaches to Health and Well‐Being: Navigating Complexity, Promoting Health in Social–Ecological Systems," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 614-632, September.
    2. Talman, A. & Bolton, S. & Walson, J.L., 2013. "Interactions between HIV/AIDS and the environment: Toward a syndemic framework," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(2), pages 253-261.
    3. Stefan Borsky & Hannah Hennighausen & Andrea Leiter & Keith Williges, 2020. "CITES and the Zoonotic Disease Content in International Wildlife Trade," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 1001-1017, August.
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