GeoVet 2023 International Conference
K08 Emergent infection disease problems under environmental land management

Category

Abstract

The world is experiencing environmental change which is unprecedented in its speed, geographical reach and severity. At the same time, biodiversity loss is in many ecosystems near catastrophic and food security a growing worldwide concern. Both long terms trends and individual system shocks have already been shown to have far-reaching implications for global health. In response, actions over land management to respond to those threats must be equally drastic and our decisions in the short term will have far-reaching implications for decades to come. These conditions are also already known to influence the emergence of new infectious disease threats. In turn, infectious diseases have the capacity to derail our efforts to respond to these challenges. Here, I shall discuss some of the issues involved, and present some preliminary investigations into the impact of how spatial coordination of land management decisions and infectious disease risks impact the potential for infectious diseases to affect wildlife and livestock.