Kinshasa, June 5th, 2025 (CPA).- Protecting the ecosystem to prevent epidemics in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was recommended during an interview on Thursday in Kinshasa by an expert, on the occasion of World Environment Day, celebrated on 5 June each year. « Pandemics, climate and ecology are intrinsically linked. Humans are therefore the key players in everything that happens, modifying the ecosystem for their own benefit.
They sometimes create an environment conducive to the outbreak of epidemics. By burning savannahs and forests, animals can change their habitat and cause diseases such as Mpox. It is therefore important to protect the ecosystem, » has said Dr Germain Kapour, an expert in ecosystems, health and contaminants. « Diseases and population displacement caused by ecological and climatic disturbances affect both animals and humans. These upheavals also create ideal conditions for the proliferation of unwanted species such as mosquitoes, the development of potentially deadly bacteria, and the release of ancient pathogens buried in the soil… All of this generates diseases and even pandemics if no action is taken, » he has argued.
This expert has said that to prevent these diseases, it is necessary to raise awareness among the population about the symptoms and signs of these diseases in order to anticipate the danger. To preserve the environment, he has continued, it is necessary to comply with essential standards such as those relating to urbanisation and architecture. ‘Gutters should not be used as rubbish bins and dumps. This practice can block gutters, causing overflows, erosion and flooding. Building away from river beds at a distance of twice the width of the river helps to avoid certain disasters,’ he has said.
He has also called on the authorities to set up permanent disease surveillance structures to raise awareness among the population of the need to comply with standards in order to live in a healthy environment. This World Environment Day is themed ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. Its aim is to raise awareness and highlight actions in favour of the environment.