Investing in our planet for Earth Day

Today the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) is celebrating Earth Day with communities and partners across the world. The health of animals, humans and plants are dependent on the health of our shared home, Earth. Only by safeguarding global health, can we ensure a sustainable future for all.

Investing in our planet, the theme of this year’s Earth Day, means investing ourselves in the protection of animal health and the biodiversity of a multitude of ecosystems around the world. The OIE supports countries to protect wildlife health through its Wildlife Health Framework, which encourages One Health solutions to the surveillance of diseases at the animal-human-environment interface. When professionals from across sectors, such as veterinarians, wildlife managers, environmentalists, scientists and medical doctors, work together, countries can develop better systems and protocols for diseases surveillance for wildlife, and recognise the complex inner functioning of ecosystems that are necessary for successful planetary, animal and human health.

In an effort to support biodiversity and overall ecosystem health, the OIE partnered with IUCN to publish Guidelines for Wildlife Disease Risk Analysis. By doing so, the OIE helped create a standard approach to disease risk analysis for wildlife, which had previously been conducted with ad hoc frameworks. These guidelines help not only public health authorities, economic development planners and government agencies, but also conservation organisations who can use them to help design wildlife protected areas, to investigate wildlife population decline, and to manage animal translocation or reintroduction activities.

By protecting wildlife health, we are investing in biodiversity and a healthier and safer planet for all.

To learn more about how the OIE is helping professionals protect wildlife health and biodiversity, visit our wildlife health page.