Written by Chi Nguyen

In Tan Lac District of the mountainous province of Hoa Binh, Vietnam, people live in close proximity to livestock (photo credit: Vu Ngoc Dung).

VTV1, the leading Vietnamese state-run media outlet, recently interviewed Hung Nguyen, regional representative for East and Southeast Asia and senior scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and Tuyet Hanh Tran, associate professor at the Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH). The interview explored the connections between ecosystem disruptions and emerging and re-emerging infectious human diseases, especially zoonotic diseases (those shared by animals and people) in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Reporter Tung Thu began the interview by observing that while COVID-19 is posing a serious threat to human health and economic development, its impact on the environment is mixed: ‘We are even seeing the crisis having some positive effects on the environment’. She asked what would happen if human beings…