6 One Health

FIGURE 8 “HOTSPOTS” MAP SHOWING THE PREDICTED DISTRIBUTION OF ZOONOTIC DISEASE EMERGENCE RISK FROM WILDLIFE

HIGH

LOW

NOTE: Yellow indicates areas of highest relative risk and purple indicates lowest risk. Adjusted for reporting bias. SOURCE: Allen, T., Murray, K.A., Zambrana-Torrelio, C., Morse, S.S., Rondinini, C., Di Marco, M., Breit, N. et al. 2017. Global hotspots and correlates of emerging zoonotic diseases. Nature Communications, 8(1): 1124. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00923-8

BOX 6 ONE HEALTH

The human-health benefits of forests, and people’s needs, vary by context, particularly between rural and urban areas. One Health is an integrated approach recognizing that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment; it aims to ensure that experts, policymakers and stakeholders in multiple sectors work together to tackle health threats to animals, humans, plants and the environment. The One Health approach has the potential to reduce disease transmission risks and improve the health and well-being of all people, wildlife, livestock and ecosystems. To date, most One Health efforts have invested primarily in public health sectors, followed by the veterinary sector; it has become apparent, however, that addressing the ecosystem-health dimension through responsible land-use planning and the greater involvement of the forest and wildlife sectors and natural-resource managers is equally important.148 Continuous monitoring and surveillance, data-sharing and evidence-based decision-making are essential for minimizing impacts and adjusting policies over time and as conditions change.

to reduce the risk of pandemics.147 Among other things, the forest ecosystem dimension of the One Health approach needs strengthening to address underlying drivers of disease emergence (Box 6).

Multiple benefits are to be gained from halting deforestation and maintaining forests, locally and globally as well as in the short and long terms, including the potential to contribute to a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant part of this goal can be achieved cost-effectively. The joint prioritization of the objectives of sequestering carbon and protecting biodiversity, water and other values would likely identify significant overlaps between these objectives and thus opportunities to increase cost-efficiency. For example, one joint prioritization exercise estimated that the top 30 percent of priority areas globally would conserve about two-thirds of existing carbon stock, clean water and species.149

Policy responses for halting deforestation typically involve creating incentives for forest conservation, addressing the potential conflicts with development pathways, food security and economic needs, and investing in enabling conditions for more efficient land-use decisions. Here, we highlight some of the policy responses available to advance the halting-deforestation pathway.

REDD+. REDD+ is a framework created under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to guide and reward results from policies and actions that reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and encourage the sustainable management of forests and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries; it could be a key mechanism for halting deforestation and meeting climate goals and for countries to receive results-based payments (RBPs). Building on the REDD+ framework, countries can meet and enhance their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to climate-change mitigation under the Paris Agreement, with many countries recognizing the mitigation potential of forests in their recent NDCs. REDD+ actions can also be linked to carbon-financing opportunities provided by Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (see Chapter 4) and complement country efforts to implement their national adaptation plans.

The participative processes and capacity development inherent in REDD+ preparation and implementation have created the conditions for action, but implementation is still needed at scale. At the national level, greater articulation between REDD+ strategies and agricultural policies could be crucial for addressing deforestation drivers, many of which relate to commodity production. Where REDD+ RBPs for emission reductions have been obtained, they can be invested in more forest-positive agrifood systems, feeding a virtuous circle between sustainable rural development and climate achievements.

Enabling and implementing integrated sustainable land management. Integrated landscape governance approaches are inherently cross-sectoral. They seek to coalesce partners, provide directionality and facilitate action within a specific jurisdiction or landscape at the subnational level.150 Such approaches are complex and can take many forms based on the local context. Five key components are emerging as minimum requirements to enable the localized reduction of deforestation from agricultural expansion: (1) multistakeholder partnerships built around a common agenda; (2) consistent neutral technical support and capacity development; (3) integrated land-use planning; (4) shared monitoring and information systems; and (5) funding the transformation to forest-positive landscapes.151,152

In addition, collaboration among public bodies and the active engagement of stakeholders, including women and marginalized communities, are needed so that the plans are informed by the interests and needs of these different groups; clear, secure land tenure is another necessary foundation for long-term sustainable investment and coordination (see Chapter 5). Governments can play a significant role by providing the legal and technical conditions necessary for enabling Indigenous Peoples, local communities, smallholders, women, youth and other vulnerable groups and their local social organizations to manage larger territories.

Strengthening governance. Legal economic activity, including forest and agricultural