Moving Conservation AHEAD (Animal Health for the Environment And Development): Addressing Wildlife, Livestock and Related Human and Ecosystem Health Issues to Foster Sustainable Success in Southern African Transfrontier Conservation Areas


Steven A. Osofsky1, DVM sosofsky@wcs.org; David H. M. Cumming2, PhD cumming@icon.co.zw;
Michael D. Kock1, BVetMed, MRCVS, MPVM mdkock@kingsley.co.za;
William Karesh1, DVM wkaresh@wcs.org
1=WCS; 2= University of  Cape Town

More transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) are being planned or implemented in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world, with economic, political, social and, of course, ecological motivations. Enhanced regional economic integration and investment, and greater connectivity for ecologically sustainable landscapes and wildlife populations are some of the key desired outcomes.

TFCA development, over such large landscapes, provides an exceptional opportunity to more comprehensively evaluate the interface between wildlife, livestock, human communities and varied social-ecological systems in terms of health and the provision of ecosystem goods and services; and in so doing to work towards sustainable improvements in human health and livelihoods from local to regional scales. Furthermore, there is an opportunity to establish a framework that fosters a synergistic partnership between farmers, natural resource managers and researchers on one hand, and government and non-governmental agencies involved in animal and public health, conservation, agriculture and rural development on the other.

The AHEAD (Animal Health for the Environment And Development) initiative’s approach was recently highlighted within the official Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Biodiversity Strategy (background information and PDF download available at http://www.wcs-ahead.org/sadc.html) as a model for addressing challenges at the wildlife / livestock / human health interface, particularly in a transboundary context.  As socioeconomic progress demands sustained improvements in health for humans, their domestic animals, and the environment, the AHEAD initiative emphasizes the need to move towards a ‘One Health’ perspective— on the ground and in the policy arena.