Awareness of the links between the ecosystem degradation of the planet, including climate change and the unsustainable overexploitation of natural resources, and the emergence of infectious diseases in humans has dramatically increased over the past decade and ever more so in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initiatives aimed at tackling these problems have multiplied and call for better integration of the health and ecological sciences, as well as for optimized collaboration to ensure synergies between initiatives and avoid duplication of efforts.
To optimize coordination and collaboration between all relevant consortia, organizations, initiatives and agencies involved at the biodiversity-health nexus and to promote active involvement of local communities, and environmental, animal, and human health stakeholders, the ZOE Knowledge Exchange Platform allows to:
i) share data, sampling site locations, protocols and methodologies;
ii) disseminate and share findings over environmental changes, plant biodiversity, animal biodiversity, microbiological biodiversity, and the emergence of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases;
iii) issue recommendations and propose practical policy strategies, involving local communities and stakeholders through co-creative activities, co-design, and co-assessment; and
iv) improve monitoring schemes and support the development of robust early warning systems in a One Health context.
