ZOE – Zoonoses Emergence across Degraded and Restored Forest Ecosystems

What are the relations between biodiversity loss and the risk of zoonoses, that is, the transmission of diseases between animals and humans? How can we create synergies between holistic approaches to health and biodiversity conservation to reduce the risk of zoonoses emergence? And what is the role and impact of human behaviour in increasing or reducing risks, for example, by altering forest ecosystems through the expansion of agriculture and urbanisation?

These are some of the guiding questions of the EU Horizon-Europe project ZOE, which are being addressed by an interdisciplinary consortium of 12 international partner organisations working across geography, geobotany, ecology, virology, immunology, epidemiology, sociology, psychology, and science communication.

Prof. Kerstin Krellenberg and her team in the Urban Studies Working Group are contributing with expertise in Geography and Environmental Sociology, therefore co-leading workpackage 2 and engaging in workpackage 1. Workpackage 2 will entail a literature review on the drivers and mechanisms of relations; the co-creative development of context-specific methods to assess risk perception, vulnerabilities, and coping and adaptation practices in the case studies; as well as through a series of workshops to strengthen the resilience of local actors and reduce health risk and biodiversity loss.

ZOE-Website

ZOE Objectives

Changes in biodiversity associated with ecosystem degradation are increasingly recognized as an important driver for the emergence and spread of infectious diseases in wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.

The inter– and transdisciplinary ZOE consortium aims at advancing the understanding of the effects of ecosystem degradation in the form of deforestation and associated biodiversity loss on the risk of emergence of zoonotic diseases, and at better defining the protective value of forest ecosystem restoration.

The project entails:

Detection of ecosystem conditions, diversity, change & degradation by using remote sensing and GIS-based analysis.
Mapping of on-site macro-organism diversity as well as on-site microbiological biodiversity (in rodents, vectors & soil).
Human socio-economic & cultural factors
Risk mapping of new risk areas for the emergence of zoonosis.

Case Study Overview

ZOE investigates 4 case study areas: 2 Mesoamerican rainforest and tropical dry forest areas (Costa Rica and Guatemala) and 2 European mixed forested temperate regions (Slovenia and Slovakia).

Our Contribution: Work package 2

Human socio-economic & cultural factors

With an interdisciplinary perspective, the ZOE project teams from University of Vienna & University da Coruña develop a tailored multi-method approach to better understand the vulnerabilities of people based on perceptions of key drivers of disease emergence and spread in settlements of the case study regions. We will involve local communities affected by ecosystem degradation and disease emergence, who cn play a central role in risk prevention and mitigation, addressing human behavioral, social and cultural drivers of ecosystem degradation and disease emergence. These will include behaviors related to food, farming, hunting, trade, hygiene & sanitation, cultural practices as well as recreational activities, and biosecurity measures such as vaccination for livestock.

Methods:

We will contribute particularly to the development and implementation of the project’s trans- and interdisciplinary methodology in the following tasks:

Task 2.1. Literature review

Task 2.2. Critical assessment of main drivers

Task 2.3. Multi-method (qualitative & quantitative) data collection

Task 2.4. Comparative analysis of results obtained

Task 2.5. Organization of community resilience workshops