
During the latest ‘Expert Talk’ on the September 16th, 2024, the Alliance welcomed Dr. Johannes Refisch, programme manager and coordinator of the Secretariat for the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), a unique alliance of member nations, research institutions, conservation organizations, United Nations agencies and private supporters that is based at UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) headquarters in Nairobi.
Under the title “Bridging the Gap to Prevent the Next Pandemic: Exploring the Connections Between Large-Scale Development, Ecological Fragilization, Biodiversity Loss, and Zoonotic Disease Emergence“, Dr. Johannes Refisch presented an innovative approach on how to prevent the next pandemic and shared his expertise on the relationship between habitat alteration and disease emergence and presented actionable recommendations to mitigate the health risks emerging from this changing relationship.
Protecting balanced ecosystems is essential for mitigating the global health risks posed by emerging infectious diseases. Rapid changes to ecosystems, including those driven by large-scale development, often result in instability and fragilization, which are recognized as significant contributors to zoonotic disease risks. While increased human-wildlife contact is frequently highlighted, habitat degradation through anthropogenic disturbances that undermine ecosystem resilience and reduce biodiversity has been independently linked to increased zoonotic disease risks. Four processes were explained portraying the complexity of the relationship between habitat alteration and disease, such as the association of viral diversity with species diversity.

© C. Kolopp, WCS Congo
Dr. Refisch highlighted the results of a UNEP project on human and wildlife health monitoring which was funded by the Alliance, and implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Society in the Republic of Congo. The project collected samples from incidental wildlife carcasses and from bats at 10 hunting sites and screened for a number of virus families associated with zoonotic epidemics such as SARS like coronaviruses, Filoviruses, Henipaviruses, etc. and used the open source platform SpillOver to ecvaluate the risk profile of the viruses identified in the samples. The second component of the UNEP project looked at the inclusion of health indicators in development planning, and more specifically, the performance standards of the International Finance Corporation. This component was implemented by the ARRC Task force (Avoid, Reduce, Restore, Conserve) of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group/Section on great apes.
At the end, Dr. Refisch presented actionable recommendations for integrating the biodiversity-health nexus into development planning, emphasizing the importance of monitoring both human and wildlife health in preventing future pandemics and closed his Expert Talk with the following 3 Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Human activities promote the emergence of zoonotic infections.
- We need to strengthen capacities to better understand disease emergence, local knowledge plays a key role here, and we need to strengthen the environmental pillar of One Health.
- Include health considerations in development planning. There are environmental and social assessments in place already, but we need to go further and take environmental, social and health assessments (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment to include Health – ESHIA).
Watch the recording of Dr. Johannes Refisch’s talk here or on our YouTube Channel. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Secretariat. The Team would be happy to connect you to Dr. Refisch.