Jiajia Liu, Zhijun Ma, Shilu Zheng, Xingfeng Si, Marc Cadotte 

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly restricted human activities, and wild species are seemingly thriving in human-dominated areas. However, we have little understanding of the consequences for biodiversity from governmental policies and socioeconomic changes in response to COVID-19, and their conservation significance. Understanding these impacts is a priority for setting effective conservation management in a post-COVID-19 world. Here, we identify putative positive and negative effects of the pandemic on biodiversity. We also highlight consequences that need to be mitigated and others that provided insight into policies to promote biodiversity conservation. To avoid further pandemics and protect human health, local governments should consider biodiversity conservation as a core value and strengthen conservation efforts. In addition, global wildlife trade ban and maintenance of the wildlife’s intact habitats are urgently required.