WCS Health

On Thursday 30 April, the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations brought together Member States, UN representatives, civil society organisations and scientific experts around the "One Health" approach. Organized by France, Armenia, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Wildlife Conservation Society, this discussion focused on the importance of the links between human, animal and environmental health as well as the growing recognition of these interconnections in the face of global challenges, including pandemics and biodiversity loss. In the continuity of the "One Health" Summit in Lyon, the United 🇫🇷 Nations is taking action to transform this approach into results, which is at the heart of the multilateral agenda. 🗓️ See you in September 2026 at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.

After more than 20 years working alongside Petra Kaczensky and my incredible Mongolian colleagues at the #InternationalTakhiGroup and, more recently, Wildlife Conservation Society, it is deeply rewarding to see this moment: khulan returning east of the Trans-Mongolian Railway after more than six decades. From developing field techniques, hundreds of animals collared, to understanding the dynamic, nomadic habitat use of this species, this journey has been about persistence—and about connectivity. The new evidence of recolonization, including confirmed crossings and observations of hundreds of animals east of the railway, marks a real conservation milestone . At the same time, it is a stark reminder: linear infrastructure continues to fragment landscapes and constrain movement in systems that depend on it. Encouraging to see this progress, and equally important that WCS and partners continue to push solutions for wildlife-friendly infrastructure and landscape connectivity. 👉 readmore here: https://lnkd.in/gTnXJWRy Reinhard Schnidrig Vetmeduni Austrian Science Fund FWF

Governments should prioritize preventing zoonotic disease spillover—the transmission of pathogens from animals to humans—as a central pillar of global pandemic preparedness, argues a new paper co-authored by WCS’s Christian Walzer for The Lancet Group. Global efforts since COVID-19, the authors say, have focused heavily on surveillance, vaccines, and emergency response, far less attention—and funding—has been directed toward stopping outbreaks before they begin. “This paper makes clear that pandemic prevention must start long before the first human case is detected,” said Walzer, who is WCS’s Executive Director of Health. “We have the scientific understanding to reduce spillover risk—by protecting ecosystems, regulating wildlife trade, and improving how livestock and people interact with nature,“ he adds. “The challenge now is political will and sustained investment.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/ew7uDmaW

🇪🇺 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐔 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 WCS EU welcomes the opportunity to contribute to shaping the EU Global Health Resilience Initiative with a clear message: Integrating the #environment sector as a central pillar of #OneHealth is not optional, it is indispensable. The EU Global Health Resilience Initiative represents a critical opportunity to realign global health policy with the best available #science. The environment sector and the protection and restoration of #EcologicalIntegrity are foundational to One Health. Ecological integrity includes the function, composition, and structure of an ecosystem; high-integrity ecosystems are more resilient and : 🌱 Regulate our climate 🐒 Sustain biodiversity 💧 Secure water and food systems 🛡️ Buffer human and animal populations from environmental and health hazards Embedding ecological integrity at the heart of health policy offers a systemic pathway to resilience, delivering co-benefits for climate stability, biodiversity conservation, economic security, and human and animal health and well-being. A failure to do so will perpetuate reactive, high-cost crisis responses. Discover our full response to the consultation ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eiCQ45pU European Commission, EU Environment and Climate, EU Health and Food Safety, European Environment Agency, Olivér Várhelyi, Teresa Ribera, Jessika Roswall, Jozef Síkela, Sandra Gallina, Eric Mamer, Wildlife Conservation Society, WCS Health #Resilience #GlobalHealth #EUHealth #Biodiversity

🐒 🥾 🌿 Park rangers are on the front line of defense against diseases that affect wildlife, livestock and people. A study led by WCS’ Diego Montecino-Latorre across Guatemala, Peru, Cambodia and Madagascar shows that integrating rangers into wildlife health monitoring is a key, viable and scalable strategy. Through training and leveraging health modules developed for existing tools such as SMART, park rangers can detect and record sick, dead or unusual behavior in animals during their patrols, generating valuable information to identify health risks in time. This work is based on the One Health approach, which recognizes that the health of ecosystems, animals, and people is deeply connected. The role of park rangers is key to protecting biodiversity and anticipating emerging health risks. 👉 Read the study at: https://lnkd.in/dV2Tygbu The SMART-EarthRanger Conservation Alliance (SERCA) Wildlife Conservation Society Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado - Sernanp

The wildlife trade is fueling disease outbreaks across the globe. It’s a massive industry encompassing exotic pets, trophy hunting, materials used in fashion, and more, writes The Washington Post this week. New research, detailed in the Post article, analyzed four decades of international trade data, along with a database that tracks which viruses are known to infect which animals, to better understand the scale of the risk it poses. This work, WCS’s Susan Lieberman tells the paper, shows that the risk is significant and “reinforces that governments need to control, regulate and, in many cases, stop this trade.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/ectuzDaQ

Today at the #OneHealthSummit in Lyon, France, WCS's Christian Walzer spoke about the environment as core health infrastructure. “Health is not produced in hospitals alone,“ he said, “it emerges from the integrity of the social-ecological systems we depend on.“ The environment sector is not peripheral; it is foundational, Walzer added. Protecting nature is a primary medical intervention—reducing spillover risk, stabilizing disease dynamics, and delivering co-benefits for climate, biodiversity, and human well-being.

At WCS Health, we are honored to contribute to the ongoing discussions at the One Health Summit in Lyon. Our commitment to advancing animal, human, and planetary health stems from recognizing the interconnectedness of social-ecological systems. The environment is not just an aspect of One Health; it is the very foundation upon which it stands. By actively engaging in this dialogue, we aim to support robust recommendations that highlight the integral role of environmental health in our collective well-being. Together, we can foster a holistic approach that prioritizes the sustainability of our ecosystems and promotes the health of all living beings. #onehealthsummit #onehealth

WCS is dedicated to strengthening One Health and wildlife health capacity globally. We co-chair a Wildlife Health Intelligence Network (WHIN) Task Force focused on supporting the implementation of ethical, robust, locally relevant, and sustainable wildlife health surveillance, and are seeking new members who are passionate about building practical implementation capacity. The task force will help collate and develop guidelines, tools, and training resources, and connect a global community of practitioners working to establish and strengthen wildlife surveillance networks. Please share across your relevant networks: https://lnkd.in/eiSqQvR5