a coral reef.

To prevent the next deadly disease, we must stop harming nature

The coronavirus pandemic proves it: By damaging the planet, we have sapped nature’s power to protect humanity from diseases.

A wave breaks over the reef crest at Kingman Reef, part of the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

Photograph by Enric Sala
Published July 20, 2020
8 min read
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced on July 20 that National Geographic's Pristine Seas program, launched by Enric Sala in 2008, is one of six finalists in the 100&Change competition, which awards a single $100 million grant to an organization or group working to solve one of the world's most critical social challenges. The award will be announced in 2021.

This story appears in the September 2020 issue of National Geographic magazine.
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