Speaker
Description
Vicente Baños, Joaquin1*
1 Universidad de Castilla-la-Mancha, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, Ciudad Real, Spain
DOI: 10.20315/evmc.2025.006
Wildlife, including game, are not immune to global changes such as: loss of biodiversity, changes in land use, the movement of people, animals and animal products, and the rapid spread of transboundary diseases throughout the world. Wildlife can be severely impacted or otherwise, become reservoirs of pathogens that threaten human and animal health (such as livestock). Accelerated changes in the environment and management itself, often reactive and without technical bases with a long-term vision, can affect the sustainability of non-informed management. In this context, One Health (one human, animal, and environmental health) is a collaborative, multi-sectoral and transdisciplinary approach that addresses this problem at local, regional, national, and global levels. This concept places the natural world and wildlife at the centre of attention.
In this presentation we will (i) address the essential role of wildlife management in the One Health approach for a global solution, (ii) as well as the need for science-based monitoring under the One Health approach, and (iii) the main barriers to optimize this approach. The position of the wildlife managers and related stakeholders is strategic and fundamental due to its relationship with the natural environment; and its potential to contribute to the monitoring of wildlife, the environment, and shared diseases. For instance, this last aspect is essential for the early warning of emerging diseases, as first-line observers in surveillance systems for pathogens in wildlife, and thus improving the possibilities of their effective control and acting at source. However, there is an urgent need of strengthening collaboration with the rest of the sectors involved, and a better understanding of the perception of One Health (social aspects) by wildlife managers. In turn, it is also essential to promote the visibility of wildlife management principles and its potential contribution to the One Health approach to society, improving public perception and support for wildlife conservation through responsible management. The challenge is not to disconnect the sustainability of wildlife and game management from its necessary contribution to a One Health solution.
