LETTERS: IN the name of progress and economic gain, Mother Nature has been continuously violated in so many unimaginable ways that it has become an agonising death sentence.
The environment, forests and animals have been decimated pervasively by human activities, camouflaged as efforts for the betterment of mankind.
The Covid-19 outbreak has driven every country in the world to freeze its economic, social and physical development activities.
However, the stay-at-home and lockdown initiatives to break the chain of infection is gradually rebooting Mother Nature and resuscitating the environment.
While the global population battles the pandemic, Mother Nature is healing herself.
The positive results to the environment include decreased air pollution from factories and cars. There has also been less deforestation.
Nitrogen dioxide pollution levels have plummeted, particularly in China and Italy. Lockdowns have significantly reduced emissions and air pollution levels the world over. For the first time in 30 years, the Himalayas are visible from India.
While humans are pinned under a tight global lockdown, wild animals all over the planet have come out in groups to reclaim their territory.
Scenes worthy of a Disney film have surfaced: a mountain lion taking a nap in a tree in a residential area in Colorado; swans and dolphins gliding through the canals of Venice; blue skies over China where the air is normally asphyxiated with smog; elephants and deer found wandering on main roads in the Kodagu district of Karnataka in India; cougars appearing in the Chilean capital of Santiago; and endangered sea turtles hatching on a deserted Brazilian beach.
Closer to home, birds have been chirping happily in the morning in Shah Alam; Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang are noticeably cleaner (where before they were filled with human and industrial waste); and wild otters have been spotted sunbathing and frolicking at Taman Tasik Putrajaya.
The last is an indicator that the vigour of the wetlands is being restored and that the ecosystem is functioning.
Evidently, Mother Nature is reacting positively to the global lockdown. Without us humans in the way, nature is thriving. It would be wise to not disrespect Mother Nature. This planet is all we have.
Suzianah Nhazzla Ismail
Shah Alam, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times