Ecological countermeasures for preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks: when ecological restoration is a human health imperative
Abstract
Ecological restoration should be regarded as a public health service. Unfortunately, the lack of quantitative linkages between environmental and human health has limited recognition of this principle. The advent of the COVID‐19 pandemic provides the impetus for further discussion. We propose ecological countermeasures as highly targeted, landscape‐based interventions to arrest the drivers of land use‐induced zoonotic spillover. We provide examples of ecological restoration activities that reduce zoonotic disease risk and a five‐point action plan at the human‐ecosystem health nexus. In conclusion, we make the case that ecological countermeasures are a tenet of restoration ecology with human health goals.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Apr 05, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1111/rec.13357
Entities
People
- Arne Witt
- Gary M. Tabor
- Jamie K. Reaser
- Peter J. Hudson
- Raina K. Plowright
Organizations
- Center for Large Landscape Conservation
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- George Mason University
- Montana State University
- National Science Foundation
- Pennsylvania State University
- United States Department of Agriculture
- University of Rhode Island