Descripción del proyecto
Análisis de la restauración de ecosistemas para reducir el riesgo de salto interespecífico
Según la Organización Mundial de la Salud, la transmisión de microorganismos patógenos de animales a seres humanos (salto interespecífico) constituye la principal causa de las enfermedades infecciosas emergentes y de las pandemias recientes. Numerosos estudios han relacionado el riesgo de salto interespecífico con la degradación del paisaje provocada por el ser humano. Por tanto, una solución lógica podría ser la restauración de ecosistemas. Sin embargo, se desconocen los mecanismos a través de los cuales la restauración podría proteger contra el salto interespecífico, las escalas espaciotemporales necesarias para ello, el tipo de restauración necesaria y los efectos potenciales sobre la forma en que los seres humanos interactúan con el medio ambiente, así como si ello podría aumentar el riesgo de salto interespecífico. En el proyecto RESTOREID, financiado con fondos europeos, se investigará cómo la restauración puede repercutir sobre las enfermedades de la fauna silvestre y el riesgo emergente de salto interespecífico.
Objetivo
Restoring Ecosystems to Stop the Threat Of (Re-)Emerging Infectious Diseases: There is a growing body of evidence that landscape degradation is linked to zoonotic spillover risk. Large scale restoration is increasingly being touted as an effective solution for mitigating against a range of anthropogenic impacts and is also hypothesised to protect against zoonotic disease spillover. However, little is known about the mechanisms with which restoration may provide this protection. It is commonly assumed that restoration mirrors in reverse the processes that occur during degradation; however, it is likely that this relationship is in fact asymmetric. Rarely can restored landscapes be returned to a state similar to that of pristine ecosystems, and often restored landscapes need to fulfil a range of environmental and socioeconomic requirements that inherently prevent them from doing so. Additionally, the spatiotemporal scale necessary to effect positive change is context dependent, and the type of restoration necessary to protect against zoonotic spillover is currently unknown. Ecosystem restoration can vary widely in type, scale and context and can also change how humans interact with their environment, which may have unexpected consequences for zoonotic disease spillover. Given the complexity of these interactions and their effect on disease, it is vital that we understand how restoration specifically might impact wildlife disease and emergent spillover risk.
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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinador
2000 Antwerpen
Bélgica