Wildlife is an important and integral part of biodiversity, which in turn underpins the health of human civilisation. It is also the main source of pathogens, some of which have the potential to transmit to humans, leading to epidemic and pandemic outbreaks. Most human infectious diseases have their origin in wild animals. Ecological disruption, land-use change, and unsustainable food production enable pathogens to spill over. The trade in wildlife products further increases the risk of zoonotic transmission. Wildlife farming and markets also contribute to spreading zoonotic pathogens. Zoonotic viruses can spread in any setting that accommodates intensive human-wildlife interactions. The project aimed to reduce health risks in the wild animal trade in Vietnam through improving the policy system, developing technical standards on wildlife farming, and raising awareness among policy makers and related stakeholders. 

Photo: Giap Van Hung

Main Outcomes: 

• Gaps related to monitoring of wildlife farms and application of regulations of biosecurity measures at wildlife farms were identified in legal documents regulating wildlife farming. 

• Recommendations for additional regulations to strengthen the role of veterinary authorities were proposed.  

• Several communication products for raising awareness on zoonotic risks associated to wildlife farming were produced and distributed wildly among One Health stakeholders and the public. 

Products: 

• The full reports: GIZ Vietnam reports on project findings published – International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade 

• The Results in video format: Alliance Viet Nam Country Package Result 

• To prevent the next pandemic, focus on biosecurity – International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade 

Find more information and the overall learnings of the Alliance financed projects in the report “Learning to make Change Happen.- Global Lessons from 18 projects” .

Wild animals are an important and integral part of biodiversity. Keeping the environment and the animals healthy, ensures the health of humans. Furthermore, they are a source of known and currently unknown pathogens, some of which have the potential to become pandemic in humans. Deforestation, land use transformations and growing urbanisation are causes of an increasing reduction of wildlife habitats. They lead to a closer contact between humans and animals and, therefore a higher probability of pathogens crossing the species boundary. 
  

The project aimed to identify knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards the risk of zoonotic diseases, wildlife trade, and consumption in different populations living in urban and rural areas, including indigenous communities, in Latin America.  

Based on its results, the project developed innovative approaches, according to local context, to educate communities, and co-construct behavioural change approaches to raise awareness and change behaviour in the population. For that, multi-centred and mixed methods along five work packages (‘WP’) were used:  

More information can be found here.

Results and Products:  

WP 1: The KAP- Survey showed the need for respect of cultural practices in relation to wildlife, while raising awareness about associated risks and preserving traditions through an integrated approach. Practices indicated overall high risk of spillover, e. g. through consumption of raw or undercooked meat, and poor hygiene practices, as well as varying exposure to zoonotic risk due to environmental disturbances. 

WP 2 

• Cultural Influences and Perceptions: Various stakeholder interviews showed the struggles between different groups of people in all the four countries. In Bolivia indigenous views often conflict with traditional livestock practices, whereas Brazil’s urban conservation efforts clash with rural communities’ dependence on hunting. Chile sees tourism significantly influencing environmental awareness, and in Guatemala, economic factors and the availability of natural resources shape how indigenous communities interact with wildlife. 

• Human- Wildlife Conflicts are also present in all the four countries. Pumas, foxes, and jaguars are frequently viewed as threats to livestock, resulting in retaliatory killings. Nevertheless, conservation awareness is growing and there are more and more education initiatives in all regions. 

• The Use of Wildlife for medicinal purposes is common in the study regions, with each country having their own traditions and practices related to medicine and diet. 

WP3: Roundtable discussions with various stakeholders brought up the most imminent issues and how to tackle them. These steps include: 

• Educational initiatives to address zoonotic risks especially for those who have regular contact with wildlife, but also interactive games for students and teachers.  

• Fostering Collaboration and Communication between the stakeholders to ensure a unified approach.  

• Interventions to enhance the understanding of biodiversity and its importance when it comes to the spillover of pathogens. 

WP4 and WP5: Pilot interventions were discussed at a workshop in Brazil and educational materials like flipcharts, student and teacher guidebooks, posters, games and calendars were created. Other interventions in the four countries involved workshops for animal owners, One Health focused Working Groups and awareness campaigns. These materials were then disseminated to different communities and the project results were presented. 

Furthermore, two papers were published during the project:  

• Kuhn C, Hayibor KM, Acheampong AT, Pires LSA, Costa-Ribeiro MCV, Burrone MS, Vásquez-Almazán CR, Radon K, Soto MTS; KAPwildlife-study group. How studies on zoonotic risks in wildlife implement the one health approach – A systematic review. One Health. 2024 Nov 8;19:100929. 10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100929 

• Caroline Kuhn, Luciana Salini Abrahão Pires, María Soledad Burrone et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards the risk of zoonotic diseases, wildlife trade, and wildlife consumption in Latin America: A One Health mixed-method study protocol, 25 November 2024, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square [https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5504949/v1]  

Find more information and the overall learnings of the Alliance financed projects in the report “Learning to make Change Happen.- Global Lessons from 18 projects” 

Photo: Hector Ramon Perez

The project aimed to strengthen government regulatory and surveillance authorities to help reduce the likelihood of future pandemics originating from wildlife-related zoonoses. To achieve this, the project focused on reviewing and assessing existing policies, to formulate policy recommendations that enhance the systematic implementation of the One Health approach. In the course if this work, more than twenty-five national laws and regulations (e.g., the Wildlife Protection Law, Animal Disease Prevention Law, Biosecurity Law, Postal Law, and Panel Code to Policy on Wild Animal Disease Health Inspection, and Regulations on the Administration of Registration of Market Entities) were reviewed, leading to policy recommendations to mitigate the zoonotic spillover risks. 

Products: 

• policy recommendations to address spillover risks in wildlife trade. 

Find more information and the overall learnings of the Alliance financed projects in the report “Learning to make Change Happen.- Global Lessons from 18 projects” 

Contact: wcschina@wcs.org

Almost three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) originate in animals, with most of those coming from wildlife. The Congo Basin is considered a hotspot for EIDs and has already experienced zoonotic disease spill over (transmission of pathogens from animal hosts to humans) due to close contact between humans and wildlife. Hunting, butchering, preparing, and consuming wild meat are common in the region and present opportunities for pathogen spillover from animals to humans. 

The general objective of this project is to understand the behaviours that may expose actors to different risks along the wild meat food chain in Cameroon to develop targeted interventions and recommendations for reducing health risks from handling wild meat.  

Main Outcomes: 

• Hygienic and sanitary behaviour in wild meat handling practices and zoonotic diseases around the world were revealed. While there were no new behaviours that could be adapted in the regional context, the study showed an insight into handling practices around the world. 

• A pilot social and behavioural change campaign was launched and workshops with various stakeholders were held.  

• Various awareness raising activities like community sensitisation meetings, radio spot broadcasting, education sessions in schools, awareness raising in churches, door to door messaging, and a wild meat backpack (Kingas) carrier design contest were conducted.   

Products:  

• Paper: A systematic mapping review of links between handling wild meat and zoonotic diseases – ScienceDirect 

Find more information and the overall learnings of the Alliance financed projects in the report “Learning to make Change Happen.- Global Lessons from 18 projects” 

The central-southern part of Africa is a is a hotspot for illegal wildlife trade including forest elephant ivory and pangolin scales. This is where the three target countries of this project, Angola, Botswana and Zambia, are located.  

The overarching goal of the project was to establish a model for legislative improvement in the field of zoonotic disease prevention and control. By the end of the project, target jurisdictions have additional knowledge tools (e.g., legal best practices, fact sheets, legislative agendas, etc.) at their disposal to independently draft or amend legislation and better control the emergence of zoonotic diseases. 

To have the maximum impact, the project focused on three neighbouring states in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), the largest trans frontier conservation area in the world. Legal development in this key area is expected to have significant regional impact, serving as a model for other African jurisdictions.  

The scalable regulatory standards developed during the project are also expected to be closely analysed and potentially adopted in other jurisdictions worldwide. Existing laws in the countries were analysed and potential gaps identified.  

Main Results:  

There are shortcomings in many national legal frameworks regarding risk of zoonotic diseases. Wildlife health and its impact on humans is mostly not mentioned.  

Main Products:  

• National laws that, directly or indirectly, address zoonotic diseases and wildlife trade were identified and formulated into three sets of legal frameworks across three countries.The reports consist of:  

• Legislative Benchmarking Report Assessing Entity Needs to Manage Zoonotic Disease Risks in Wildlife Trade – serves as a foundation for an understanding of the approach to zoonotic disease prevention at various levels, i.e., national, regional, or global. It therefore serves as a fundamental precursor to legal best practices, establishing the groundwork for their identification.   

• International Legal Best Practices: Terrestrial Wildlife Disease and Trade – provides a tool for assessing national legislation that directly or indirectly governs wildlife trade, and in particular, its ability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to zoonotic diseases emerging from wildlife.   

• Legal Gap Analysis on Wildlife Disease in Terrestrial Fauna – reports for Angola, Botswana, and Zambia, that assess the relevant legal frameworks in each jurisdiction to manage and control wildlife diseases, and outline identified gaps in the national legislation that need to be addressed to strengthen the legal responses to managing zoonotic disease in the context of wildlife trade.  

• Find more information on their website: NEW REPORTS ON ZOONOTIC DISEASE PREVENTION – End Wildlife Crime 

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Find more information and the overall learnings of the Alliance financed projects in the report “Learning to make Change Happen.- Global Lessons from 18 projects” and check out Legal Atlas, ICCF, and End Wildlife Crime

The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE) recently published its Wildlife Health Framework ‘Protecting Wildlife Health to Achieve One Health’. It recognizes that animal (both wild and domestic) health, balanced ecosystems, and biodiversity contribute to achieving One Health. It also stresses that in response to global trends in disease emergence and biodiversity loss there is an urgent need to strengthen the wildlife component of One Health. The framework sets out concrete actions to manage the risk of disease emergence at the human-animal-ecosystem interface and to protect wildlife health, and stresses that the goals cannot be achieved by WOAH alone. It therefore identifies IUCN as one the key collaborators (alongside Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)) that need to work with WOAH in order to implement the actions and achieve its goals. Through this project IUCN coordinated input to WOAH processes for developing or updating their Standards and guidelines on wildlife disease surveillance, risk assessment and risk management.  Based on the mandates provided to IUCN through its Program, and the WOAH Wildlife Health Framework, IUCN worked with EcoHealth Alliance, an IUCN (NGO) Member, which is a global environmental health non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting wildlife and public health from the emergence of disease. 

To do this Experts from IUCN, EcoHealth Alliance and, SSC Wildlife Health Specialist Group, EcoHealth Alliance, and WOAH met regularly to disseminate guidelines on wildlife disease, promote synergies and maintain progress in the project activities.  

• A web-based feedback form was developed to solicit feedback on the strengths, weaknesses and gaps of the existing guidance and shared with invited peer reviewers representing various wildlife-related sectors, and all Members of the Alliance.  

• Updated guidelines were produced under the project, titled “General Guidelines for Disease, Pathogen, and Toxin Surveillance in Free-Ranging Wildlife: An overview for wildlife authorities and others working with wildlife”. 2024-final-guidelines-disease-pathogen-toxin-surv-wildlife-v27.06.pdf The document covers a much wider and forward-thinking scope of wildlife health and disease surveillance and more specific advice and tools for operational and financial considerations. Based on feedback from reviewers, aspects including stakeholder roles and responsibilities, biosafety, community-based participation, laws and ethics, and resource mobilization are now emphasised. 

Implementation of the Guidelines: Training Workshop on Wildlife Disease Surveillance held in Liberia 

Using the WOAH/IUCN surveillance guidelines as the basis, works with the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia (SCNL, an IUCN member organisation) and experts from the IUCN SSC Wildlife Health Specialist Group (WHSG) collaborated with relevant national authority experts in Liberia to strengthen capacity to develop, implement, and evaluate elements of a wildlife disease surveillance program in line with the national context. The workshop took place March 8-10, 2025 and drew over 30 participants including national vet services, conservation groups and the Africa One Health University Network. Attendees explored the new “Guidelines for the Surveillance of Diseases, Pathogens, and Toxic Agents in FreeRanging Wildlife” (published September 2024), though various activities. A similar approach is foreseen in Vietnam, supporting the Nature4Health (N4H) initiative. 

Lessons Learned: 

Striving for consistency in concepts is important across knowledge and guidance products to promote a common understanding and enable effective collaboration among sectors.   

There is a need for targeted information that is fit for the roles, responsibilities and resources of specific disciplines, such as those working in protected and conserved areas (e.g., rangers) and other wildlife-related sectors.  

There are practical gaps in existing knowledge products related to wildlife disease, pathogen, and toxin surveillance. As a result, intensive outreach on project outputs is required; and further needs for practical tools for surveillance planning, implementation, and use of findings are likely to be identified as this awareness and knowledge grows in the wildlife sector.  

Awareness campaigns aiming to reduce demand for wildlife and bushmeat are typically limited to conservation and legal aspects, while the dangers of zoonotic diseases are neglected. 

Our broad-based campaign aims to change behaviour towards wildlife with a new approach. The goal is to reduce the risks of zoonotic spill overs in five relevant African countries by creating public awareness on the ground for human health risks, linked to wildlife trade, and promoting the One-Health approach. We use and expand the existing experience and structures of education programs at five rescue centres, under different conditions (such as consumed species range, rural vs. urban target consumer groups, and responsible government agencies). By using a wide range of communication tools the project aims to increase awareness about potential health risks from contact with wildlife, to discourage hunting, trade and wildlife consumption, to suggest alternatives, and motivate responsible government agencies to initiate necessary actions. Creating a consortium of rescue centres and learning from each other will facilitate the exchange of knowledge, resulting in timely adjustments of education tools, and the development of new strategies – including activating influential stakeholders as multiplicators.  

As a result, we develop optimised campaign tools in a modular system that can be used individually or as a package also in other countries and regions.

Read the full Project Report here:

Wild meat is a vital source of animal protein for many communities around the world. However, trade in and consumptive use of wild animals poses several health risks to the human population, in addition to threatening global biodiversity. Since wild meat is mostly traded informally, and through complex food supply chains, understanding the potential impacts it may have on public health is notably difficult. This is so because the clandestinely practiced act has no clear food safety guidelines such as those governing foods from crops or farm animals. Several studies have documented the existence of pathogens in wild meat, as well as disease outbreaks associated with handling and or consumption of wild animals or wild meat. However, little is known about risk of exposure of humans to these pathogens along the wild meat value chains (VC). Few studies have conducted risk assessment regarding wild meat handling and consumption, but such studies did not use a VC approach for risk analysis. Regardless, data from mapping wild meat VC, even though limited, have been used to identify conservation entry points in West, Central and East Africa. It is possible that risk analysis conducted through a VC approach can help identify critical control and entry points for diseases into the human population. Our project therefore intends to use a VC approach to estimate the risk of exposure to humans of the pathogens along the wild meat VC in Nairobi, Kenya, and Lagos, Nigeria. Data on the structure and characteristics of the wild meat VC in these cities will continue to be vital in informing conservation policies. Most importantly, the findings from this study will enhance global understanding of existing food hazards of wild meat in urban centres, and probability of exposure to such hazards at the VC nodes. Such information is vital in identifying critical disease control points thus enhancing local, national and global capacity for disease outbreak prevention and control.