One Health: Approaches to tackle wicked problems at the human, animal and ecosystem interface

Event Details

Date:

Tuesday, 18 August 2015

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room:

Large Seminar Room, Level 3

UQ Location:

Queensland Bioscience Precinct (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.qaafi.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=222647

Event category(s):

Full Description:: We are constantly reminded of the impending catastrophes that await us as global population growth continues its relentless march. Global change and sustainability are the key words of our generation. The global food system is gearing up to feed 9 billion people, but at what cost?

'Wicked problems' such as emerging infectious diseases like the Black Death (plague) have had enormous impacts on human societies throughout history. What about the future? Well, since the 1990s the world has experienced the emergence of a number of lethal and alarming zoonotic diseases such as BSE (Mad Cow Disease), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (Bird Flu), Nipah and Hendra viruses and, the ongoing Ebola outbreak. The question remains: how do human societies continue to develop along with their associated food, social, cultural and economic systems whilst reducing or avoiding the drivers for an emerging epidemic?

In response to this threat is the paradigm of One Health, which is an emerging international field of research and practice combining human, animal and ecosystem health. The core of One Health is a shift away from reductionist thinking towards a more systems-based approach that fosters collaboration, trust and integrated approaches. This talk will explore some of the challenges we face and possible questions that remain to be answered.