Human encroachments into natural landscapes increase pathogen transmission between wildlife, domestic animals, and humans. This threatens critically endangered wildlife species, food security and the cultural fabric of Indigenous communities, and even upends global economies and ways of living.
Despite broad international regulations requiring wildlife health surveillance systems, few countries generate wildlife health intelligence through operational and sustainable systems.
How can we sustain wildlife health surveillance systems across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)? How can we identify priorities, measure benefits, and improve efficiency? How can we formalize a coordinated global support system?
OUR APPROACH: Wildlife Health Intelligence Network (WHIN) is a consortium of organizations that all believe that the solutions to scaling wildlife health surveillance globally go beyond the capacity of a single organization. Our WHIN working group will bridge disciplines and scales to identify collaborative and evidence-based solutions to address the gap between international guidelines and field implementation. First, a consortium will be formalized to design a coherent framework for the regulation and implementation of wildlife health surveillance systems globally. Second, available data will be synthesized to create a strong evidence base for the efficient scaling of wildlife health surveillance systems.
SNAPP’s Wildlife Health Intelligence Network (WHIN) working group convened at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, from 6-8 May 2024 to discuss formalizing a community of practice for implementing wildlife health surveillance worldwide. Discussions centered around developing communication strategies, fundraising plans, co-creating decision-making tools as well as advancing research on the non-market value of wildlife.
SNAPP’s working group, Wildlife Health Intelligence Network (WHIN), has created an open, global community of practice that brings together experts, organizations, governments, and end-users to share knowledge and implement wildlife surveillance systems that are locally led, co-developed through ethical engagement, aligned with global standards, and backed by strong IT infrastructure. This new community of practice aims to amplify existing local solutions across a global community of practice to address the gaps in implementation.
Wildlife Conservation Society Health Program
Department of Ecosystem and Public Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary
International Livestock Research Institute, One Health Research, Education & Outreach Centre Africa
Wildlife Health Australia (WHA)
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative
Department of Ecosystem and Public Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary
FAO
World Health Organization (WHO)
University of Calgary
United States Department of Agriculture National Wildlife Research Center
United States Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center
Mahidol University, Monitoring and Surveillance Center for Zoonotic Diseases in Wildlife and Exotic Animals (MoZWE)
Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center One Health Institute, University of California, Davis
Samson Cree Nation
Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative
World Organisation for Animal Health
Wildlife Health Australia
World Health Organization