Annual Report 2010-11 - Global Invasive Species Programme - GISP

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ecoHEALTHBuilding bridges between biodiversity science and healthChair: P Daszak, Consortium for Conservation Medicine, Wildlife Trust, USAwww.diversitas-international.org/ecohealthThere is a growing understanding of theway environmental changes (land usechange, wildlife trade, deforestation,climate change, and others) affect thehealth of wild and domestic animals,plants and humans. These changes aredrivers of disease emergence in wildlife,humans, domestic animals and plants.Those changes will not only affect humanhealth, but will also have an importanteconomical cost.ecoHEALTH aims at providing 1) a fora tobring scientists from natural, social andmedical sciences together to address theseissues; 2) a conceptual framework to carryout research on these topics; 3) accurateinformation to decision-makers.The DIVERSITAS ecoHEALTHEconomics of Emerging Diseasesproject (DEEED)The objective of DEEED is to provide a bioeconomicmodelling framework to evaluatethe risk posed by Emerging InfectiousDiseases (EIDs) from wildlife in trade. Thisincludes formulation of the underlyingmodel describing the transport of infectedwildlife to new destinations, deriving thedistribution of the net present value forevaluating the underlying economics, andproviding a risk management strategy formaking decisions. DEEED developed a bioeconomicmodelling framework to evaluatethe risk of EIDs from wildlife in trade,and collected data from several studieddiseases to test the model.June 2010 and March 2011 (New York,USA)DEEED organised its 3 rd and 4 th meetingto refine the model and work on twomanuscripts being in preparation.The DIVERSITAS ecoHEALTH onBiodiversity and Emerging DiseasesSubgroup (DEBED)This project is based on studies showingthat the properties of local speciesrichcommunities would protect againstinvaders and pathogens. The so-called“dilution effect” theory may representa “flag” for research on biodiversityand ecosystem services. Alternatively,papers have shown that at large spatialscales, increased biodiversity is linkedto increasing risk of zoonotic diseasesin people (disease from wildlife). Theobjective of DEBED is to develop causalinference in emerging disease ecology,in which the dilution effect phenomenonis part of something more complex:What are the main ecological drivers ofemerging infectious diseases (beforeany consideration on the possibility of adilution effect)? What does the dilutioneffect phenomenon mirror exactly?August 2010 (London, UK)DEBED met for the first time, back to backwith the EcoHealth conference. The groupidentified important issues related tobiodiversity change and emerging diseaseand some key issues to be addressed byDEBED as well as potential products.Science-policy activitiesJune 2010 (New York, USA)ecoHEALTH policy meetingSC-ecoHEALTH and representatives of theNatural Resources Defense Council (NRDC),GISP, and Conservation International heldthis meeting to review the current stateof the art on policy initiatives related tothe wildlife trade, and discuss synergisticresearch and policy agendas as well aspotential joint initiatives.Discussions with the Convention onBiological Diversity on biodiversity andhealth are also ongoing.20 DIVERSITAS I ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Global Invasive SpeciesProgramme (GISP)Chair: W Jackson, IUCN, Gland, Switzerlandwww.gisp.orgGISP was established in 1996 as aninternational non-for-profit partnershipdedicated to tackling the global threat ofinvasive species, whose impacts cost atleast US$ 1.4 trillion annually. Establishedin response to the first internationalmeeting on invasive species held inTrondheim in 1996, GISP aimed to providepolicy support to international agreementsof relevance to invasive species,specifically Article 8(h) of the Conventionon Biological Diversity (CBD), and toraise awareness of the threats posed byinvasive species globally. GISP’s goal wasthat by 2020, a majority of countrieswould have the necessary policies in placeto implement their national biosecuritystrategies and action plans.2010 was United Nations declared‘International Year of Biodiversity’ andwith invasive species constituting the2 nd biggest threat to biodiversity, it was acritically important year for GISP.Highlights of 2010 included:ZZGISP played its biggest role to date insupporting the CBD on invasive speciesand development of the new CBDStrategic Plan (2011-2020), includingnotably, Target 9 on invasive species;ZZApril 2010 (Auckland, New Zealand)Co-organisation of a workshopaddressing the dual challenges ofinvasive species and climate changeon islands, “Helping Islands Adapt:A Regional Workshop on RegionalAction to Combat Invasive Species onIslands to Preserve Biodiversity andAdapt to Climate Change”. It generatedand revised a mapping of relevantinitiatives and activities on invasivespecies in the targeted regions,identified individuals for participationand input, led outreach to theCaribbean and Europe, and assisted infund-raising efforts;ZZPublication of two pioneering WorldBank-funded reports on invasivespecies in relation to climate changeand gender, respectively;ZZPublication of the 1 st Global Indicatoron invasive species, under the auspicesof the GEF-funded, 2010 BiodiversityIndicators Partnership (2010 BIP)initiative.Sadly, despite these accomplishments,in the aftermath of the global economicrecession, GISP was unable to attractadequate investment from donors orpartners and towards the end of 2010,the decision to close the GISP Secretariatwas taken, while the GISP Partnership haseffectively entered a dormant phase.As a component of the DIVERSITAS’research projects portfolio for 13 years,the relationship between GISP andDIVERSITAS evolved towards a strongpartnership focusing on science-policyactivities in 2009. DIVERSITAS takes thisopportunity to re-emphasise the greatachievements of GISP both in termsof advancing the science of invasivespecies and bringing issues related toinvasive species at the forefront of policydecisions.SECTION 1 I DIVERSITAS SCIENCE 21
Page 1: Annual Report 2010-11I n t e g r a
Page 5 and 6: FOREWORDFrom the Chair and the Exec
Page 7: Contributing to 2010,the Internatio
Page 10 and 11: New DIVERSITAS web sitelaunched!DIV
Page 12 and 13: InternationalProject Officescoordin
Page 14 and 15: ioDISCOVERYAssessing, monitoring an
Page 16 and 17: ioSUSTAINABILITYScience for the con
Page 18 and 19: InternationalProject Officescoordin
Page 20 and 21: freshwaterBIODIVERSITYChair: M A Pa
Page 24 and 25: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE PARTNERSHIPDev
Page 26 and 27: Global Water System Project (GWSP)C
Page 28 and 29: DIVERSITAS at the interfacebetween
Page 30 and 31: Building a globalbiodiversity obser
Page 32: DIVERSITAS at the interfacebetween
Page 36 and 37: PublicationsThe Intergovernmentalsc
Page 39 and 40: September 2010freshwaterBIODIVERSIT
Page 41 and 42: DIVERSITAS Committees’ initiative
Page 43 and 44: Global Environmental Change Program
Page 45 and 46: AcknowledgementsFunding for the act
Page 47 and 48: Getting involved…The success of D

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