Post COVID-19 challenges for the sustainable entrepreneusrhip

The Outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has proved to be destructive at economic, social, and ecological ends across the globe. It has disrupted human life in an extremely adverse way. The pandemic aftermath is yet to be completely realised, yet the scale of economic, social, and ecological damage is unfathomable. The situation has elevated the responsibility on entrepreneurial ground to bring in solutions at the affected fronts and work towards sustainability. It is high time to realize the significance of sustainable entrepreneurship at the time when pandemic consequences are severe and still unfolding which will show in the times to come. Though the disruption caused by the pandemic is huge on everyone and everything, the study reveals that sustainable entrepreneurship has comparatively less effect of adversities of COVID-19 than the normal business. This study presents the need and significance of sustainable entrepreneurship to address the damages caused by COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021 IEEE.

Empowering fisherwomen leaders helped reduce the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on fishing communities: Insights from Brazil.

Small-scale fishers in the developing world have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic given that they belong to one of the most socioeconomically vulnerable groups. In Brazil, one of the countries most affected by the pandemic, it was expected early on that the economy and wellbeing of fishers would be negatively impacted, yet fishers were expected to show some adaptive and coping mechanisms. To assess whether this was the case, 40 fishers, who are also leaders of fishing associations representing over 80 thousand fishers throughout the country, were interviewed. Results revealed that female leaders appraised the economic and health / wellbeing impacts to be harsher on fishers than men did. Moreover, fishers on the coast were found to be better able to adapt than those inland, although both had low levels of adaptive capacity. The nature of coping and adaptive mechanisms was also found to be different between locations. Whereas leaders from coastal associations stated that most of the adaptive responses occurred in the post-harvest sector (e.g., changes to the types of sales and changes to supply chain actors), leaders from inland communities stated that the changes that occurred related specifically to fishing (e.g., decrease in effort and changes in fishing grounds). These findings suggest that: 1) women may be better prepared to respond to COVID-19 because their appraisal may be more realistic than men, 2) the historic vulnerability of fishing communities may limit their adaptative capacity, and 3) coastal fishers have likely found ways to maintain part of their trade, contrary to inland fishers. Thus, to better help small-scale fisheries to cope with this particular pandemic or other large disruptive impacts, it would be recommended to invest in women in leadership roles while also guaranteeing that fishers have the minimal conditions to cope with and adapt to impacts. The latter can be done by assuring emergency cash transfers for the duration of the impact, as with the still ongoing pandemic, and investing in building fisher resilience for future shocks.

Environmental externalities of the COVID-19 lockdown: Insights for sustainability planning in the Anthropocene.

The COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly halted the Anthropocene's ever-expanding reign for the time being. The resulting global human confinement, dubbed as the Anthropause, has created an unprecedented opportunity for us to evaluate the environmental consequences of large-scale changes in anthropogenic activities. Based on a methodical and in-depth review of related literature, this study critically evaluates the positive and negative externalities of COVID-19 induced lockdown on environmental components including air, water, noise, waste, forest, wildlife, and biodiversity. Among adverse impacts of the lockdown, increased amount of healthcare waste (300-400%), increased level of atmospheric ozone (30-300%), elevated levels of illicit felling in forests and wildlife poaching were prominent. Compared to the negative impacts, significant positive changes in various quality parameters related to key environmental components were evident. Positive impacts on air quality, water quality, noise level, waste generation, and wildlife were apparent in varying degrees as evaluated in this study. By presenting a critical overview of the recommendations given in the major literature in light of these documented impacts, this paper alludes to potential policy reforms as a guideline for future sustainable environmental management planning. Some of the key recommendations are e.g., enhance remote working facilities, cleaner design, use of internet of things, automation, systematic lockdown, and inclusion of hazardous waste management in disaster planning. The summarized lessons of this review, pertinent to the dynamic relationship between anthropogenic activities and environmental degradation, amply bring home the need for policy reforms and prioritization of Sustainable Development Goals in the context of the planetary boundaries to the environmental sustainability for a new post-pandemic world.