Coupled human-environment system amid COVID-19 crisis: A conceptual model to understand the nexus

The world today is dealing with a havoc crisis due to the pervasive outbreak of COVID-19. As a preventive measure against the pandemic, government authorities worldwide have implemented and adopted strict policy interventions such as lockdown, social distancing, and quarantine to curtail the disease transmission. Consequently, humans have been experiencing several ill impacts, while the natural environment has been reaping the benefits of the interventions. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the interlinked relationship between human society and the natural environment amid the current crisis. Herein, we performed a meta-analysis of existing literature reporting the various impacts of COVID-19 on human society and the natural environment. A conceptual model was developed to portray and address how the interaction of the existing elements of both sub-components of the coupled human-environment system (CHES) – human society and natural environment – are impacted by the government interventions. Results revealed a suite of positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 on both the sub-components. Our model provides an explicit impression of the complex nexus of CHES amid the current crisis. The proposed conceptual model could help in understanding the complex nexus by identifying the route of short-term impacts of COVID-19 measures and thus may aid in identifying priority areas for discussion and planning in similar crises as well.