David Zilberman

Dear ELP Alumni and Friends,

We are at the end of 2021 approaching what I hope to be a better year. Despite the pandemic, we held an exciting virtual ELP program this year. We learned from the experience and will have hybrid programs in the future. 

The COVID pandemic has taught us several lessons that are important for policy makers and environmental leaders.

First, we realized the dangers of continuous encroaching on nature and expanding the built environment. As we encroach wildlife territory, we expand the risk of zoonotic diseases like COVID, and we lose biodiversity. E. O. Wilson suggested that we impose self-limits on the amount of resources that humans utilize. In particular, he suggested that we will set half of Earth as a nature reserve. We should investigate this proposal and work towards implementation.

A second lesson is the power of science, especially biological science. Without advanced biology we wouldn’t be able to trace the spread of the pandemic and develop the vaccine. That strengthens my belief in the power of bioeconomy and its crucial role in addressing challenges like climate change and food security.

Third is the existence and cost of polarization among people. We realized a growing polarization in beliefs and gap, that in my view, is not necessary, between people who trust science and those who trust religion. There is a polarization based on political attitudes between the left and right. There is growing polarization among different nationalities and ethnic groups. These polarizations and growing distance among groups has affected actions in response to the pandemic and prevented us from tackling joint problems like climate change and food security. We need to understand the other side and communicate with people who don’t share our opinions. We also need to realize that we are all unique individuals, each with our own background and peculiarities but we must work together for the benefit of all of us.

Fourth is the vulnerability of democracy. The event on January 6th in the US and the decline of democracy in many countries are worrisome signals. It’s not obvious that “democracy will prevail in the long run”. I am a big believer in representative democracy despite its limitations, but we need to make sure to recognize the flaws of a system and the abuse and injustice they may cause and strive to improve the system. Democracy is a work in progress, and we need to adapt it as we learn from our experience.

Fifth, the importance of collaboration among nations. Despite many conflicts arising during the pandemic, collaboration among nations was critical. The sharing of information about the virus and its properties were crucial to develop tests and vaccines. While we didn’t have enough sharing of vaccines, it was very valuable. As humanity faces common challenges, collaboration among us is the first line of defense.

Sixth, the gains from resilience value chains, and the importance of safety nets. I was worried about the likely impact of the pandemic on food security, and indeed they were severe and mostly affecting the poor. However, they were much less than I expected, and food systems throughout the world adapted quite well to the pandemic despite trying conditions. We see increased digitization of supply chains throughout the world from Africa to North America, from India to Europe. With social distancing, new enterprises emerged to creatively deliver food from the farm to the home and to  overcome shortages. Yet, many lost their jobs and income, and millions were driven to extreme poverty and starvation. Safety nets, in terms of income support, rent and debt relief, worked well in some countries, but were missing in others. This is one area where more global cooperation and assistance is needed, as well as more daring and urgent policies.

Seventh, the value of prevention. The pandemic taught us again that fast response and early prevention are much cheaper than adaptations once a disaster occurs. In our studies, we found that countries that introduced social distancing earlier, and monitored the spread of the disease had lower costs in terms of life and economic losses. The lack of early monitoring systems of the spread of the pandemic, insufficient equipment, training, and policy response preparation were all documented very well in Michael Lewis’ The Premonition as very costly. This suggests the value of further emphasis on mitigation and investment in technologies for adaptation when we consider climate change.

Eighth, the value of the Beahrs ELP. This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of our program and it’s clear that our program, which builds bridges among professionals from various nations, addressing the most challenging problems facing humanity, is more valuable than ever. We are really excited about the Malcolm Kerr endowment that was initiated this year, and would allow us to expand our activities.