BEPREP – Identification of best practices for biodiversity recovery and public health interventions to prevent future epidemics and pandemics

Epidemije in pandemije, ki jih večinoma povzročajo zoonoze in vektorske bolezni, zahrbljujoče hitro ogrožajo naše zdravje in blaginjo po vsem svetu. Preprečevanje prihodnjih izbruhov bolezni bo zato ključnega pomena za blaginjo ljudi. Stavek "biotska raznovrstnost je dobra za naše zdravje" je postal nova paradigma pri zmanjševanju tveganj za nastanek bolezni. Zato je bila obnova narave, ciljno usmerjena v biotsko raznovrstnost – tako samostojno kot v kombinaciji z ukrepi na področju javnega zdravja – opredeljena kot glavno orodje za zmanjševanje tveganj za nastanek bolezni. Čeprav je na svetu v teku ali načrtovanih na tisoče projektov obnove narave, nam primanjkuje znanja:

a) o tem, ali tovrstne obnove dejansko prekinejo verigo okužbe, razmnoževanja, preskoka in širjenja bolezni ter zmanjšajo tveganje za nastanek bolezni,

b) o tem, ali tveganje morda povečajo, in

c) dejavnikih uspeha, ki pripomorejo k obnovam, s katerimi zmanjšamo tveganje za nastanek bolezni.

S projektom BEPREP bomo zapolnili te vrzeli v znanju in pripravili praktične smernice. S prostorsko in časovno ponovljivimi terenskimi študijami in poskusi v študijah primerov, izvedenih v Evropi in nekaterih tropskih državah, bomo preučili vzročne mehanizme dinamike okužb. Z rezultati projekta BEPREP bomo prispevali k oblikovanju evropske družbe, ki bo pripravljena in odzivna na tveganja za nastanek bolezni. S projektom bomo tako pospešili ekološki prehod, s katerim bomo zadostili strategiji EU za biotsko raznovrstnost do leta 2030, ki je osrednji del zelenega dogovora EU, in podprli zeleno okrevanje po pandemiji covida-19.

Spletna stran projekta: www.beprep-project.eu

Epidemics and pandemics – most of them caused by zoonotic and vector-borne emerging diseases – are globally threatening our health and welfare at an alarming pace. Prevention of future disease outbreaks will be pivotal to secure human welfare. "Biodiversity-is-good-for-our-health" has become a new paradigm in disease risk mitigation. Consequently, nature restoration targeting biodiversity recovery – isolated or in combination with public health interventions – has been identified as a major disease risk mitigation tool. While there are thousands of ongoing and planned nature restoration projects globally, we lack knowledge

a) if such restorations indeed interrupt the infect-shed-spill-spread cascade and mitigate disease risk,

b) or if they rather amplify the risk and

c) on success factors characterizing restorations that mitigate disease risk.

BEPREP will fill this lack in knowledge and provide practical guidance. In spatially and temporally replicated field studies and experiments in case studies in Europe and the tropics, we will reveal the causal mechanisms of infection dynamics and of drivers along the infect-shed-spill-spread cascade. The results of BEPREP help to create a European society prepared and responsive to disease risk. BEPREP will hence accelerate the ecological transition required to meet EU's Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 as a core part of EU's Green Deal and support a green recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project website: www.beprep-project.eu