We focus on preventive and sustainable measures and translate the commitment, knowledge and political will of our members through a One Health approach.
Who we are
In September 2021 the International Alliance against Health Risks and Wildlife Trade was launched as an inclusive and interdisciplinary platform at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille. Within the first year, more than 100 national and international political, academic and civil society organizations, have joined as members, confirming their commitment to our two central goals.
The Alliance is driven by evidence-based insight, and we address the entire wildlife trade spectrum: from hunting and handling, through trading to consuming wildlife and its products. To reduce the risks of future outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics.
The Alliance helps to join forces for a common cause and expand each member’s radius. We offer matchmaking among members to enable new collaboration and partnership. We translate scientific evidence and insights from local knowledge into concrete policy recommendations.
About 700.000 viruses in wild mammals and birds have the potential to jump over to humans.
What we do
Strategies to identify and address health risks are complex: They must be context-specific and culture-sensitive and require interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, well-coordinated inclusive planning, co-creation and joint actions of many different actors.
We translate the commitment, knowledge and political will of our diverse members into impact by providing and communicating evidence, helping to design countermeasures, and supporting and evaluating interventions—finding solutions that work while concurrently improving health, equity, and well-being for all species—through a One Health approach.
To drive actual changes on the ground we broker knowledge and insights; we encourage and empower evidence-based orientation and regulation. By offering guidance to involved communities and authorities, we help change behavior and improve policy implementation.
Ecosystem disturbance or wildlife exploitation can increase the risk for spillover events.
Our goals
1. Substantially reducing the risks of zoonotic spillover and stepping up responses (including behavioral changes) to human and animal health risks caused by direct and indirect contact with wildlife and their products along the wildlife trade chain.
2. Enhancing international and national awareness, knowledge and policies with regard to goal 1, thus narrowing the gap between science and implementation.
Alliance membership
The membership is based on transparency, equal terms, and equal say. We acknowledge the complementarity of the very diverse actors and action fields involved. Through our combined knowledge we’ll narrow the gap between science and implementation. Global awareness, policies and practice will be improved.
With our joint action we strive to substantially reduce unnecessary health risks posed by close contact across the entire wildlife trade spectrum.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee formulates the strategic plan for the Alliance and set targets for further development and orientation. It identifies topics and priorities for the Alliance’s focus and represents the Alliance and its goals, engage and communicate with other initiatives and external partners in different fora and platforms. It was elected by all Alliance members in June 2022 for a term of three years. To ensure a true representation of the complexity and wealth of our topic and our membership, the Steering Committee is structured in designated seats as follows:
Health & microbiology
Professor Alex D. Greenwood, PhD
Head of Department of Wildlife Diseases
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
Wildlife trade, biodiversity conservation
Dr. Barbara Maas
Head of Endangered Species Conservation
NABU International
Global environmental change & big picture
Hongying Li
Senior Programs Manager & Senior Scientist
EcoHealth Alliance
Law, regulation
Susan Lieberman
Vice-President, International Policy
Wildlife Conservation Society
Anthropology, psychology, behavioral & social sciences
Prof. Dr. Katja Radon MSc
Chairwoman of the Center for International Health
Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany
Latin America & Caribbean
Marcela Fresno
Assistant professor, researcher and One Health Master’s director, Universidad de Las Américas, Chile (UDLA)
Red One Health Latinoamérica, Ibero y El Caribe (OHLAIC)
Latin America & Caribbean
Christina Pettan-Brewer MV, DVM, MSc
Senior Veterinarian, Co-Director and Associate Professor, Department of Comparative Medicine School of Medicine
University of Washington, Seattle
Africa
Dr. Moses Yongo Otiende
Head Forensics and Genetics laboratory
Wildlife Research and Training Institute, Kenya
Asia, Pacific & Oceania
Dr. Sandul Yasobant
Co-Lead cum Researcher
Centre for One Health Education, Research & Development (COHERD), Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar (IIPHG), India
Representative for Individual Members
Dr. Craig Stephen
President, McEachran Institute, Canada
Alliance Secretariat
The Alliance was initiated by the German government, and its secretariat is currently run by the GIZ | Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit in Germany. The secretariat facilitates the smooth operation of the Alliance and its progress towards the Alliance’s goals. It supports the Steering Committee in its work and serves as the Alliance central point of contact.
Constanze Riedle
Head of GIZ-Program
Dr. Kim Grützmacher
Advisor One Health and Biodiversity
Johannes Keil
Advisor Governance
Kathrin Norda
Advisor Community Management and Bioscience
Hannah Emde
Advisor Communications
Ulrike Bühler
Finance Manager
Isabel Michler
Intern
Sonja Rossmann
Intern
Alliance Charter and Operational Manual
The Charter outlines our mission, vision, and goals of the Alliance.
The Operational Manual outlines all technical details of our mode of operation and cooperation within the Alliance. To become a member, an applicant shall consent to both documents.
Alliance Glossary
An Alliance working group with members from various disciplines jointly composed a glossary to define commonly used terms in the context of wildlife trade and health and to ensure common language. Please use content freely, with adequate acknowledgment.