Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
One Health governance in the European Union
One Health sees human, animal and environmental health as a single system. Two reports within the framework of the EU Science Advice Mechanism propose EU policy measures for One Health, such as improving the coherence of EU policy, strengthening education and training and increasing support for research and innovation in this area.
The scientific review was written by renowned researchers from the academies' consortium SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies). The policy recommendations based on this were drafted by the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors for the attention of the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. Both reports emphasise the relationships between mental health, physical health and social conditions as well as the need for interdisciplinary research into human behaviours that affect One Health, e.g. wildlife trade, farming practices, water management and vaccination acceptance.
Jakob Zinsstag, researcher at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel with several engagements at the Swiss Academies and co-chair of the SAPEA working group, says: «Europe should actively support regional, local, and global efforts, promoting the sharing of best practices and integrating a One Health perspective in education, professional training, and public awareness».
Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT
Roles of Scientists in Sustainability Transformations: A Guide for Reflection and Workshop Facilitation
Scientists, scientific experts, and knowledge brokers often find themselves in situations where they need to play new roles in society or are criticised for positioning themselves at the interface between science and other societal fields of action. The present guide aims to stimulate reflections on, and discussions of, various different roles that scientists perform.
European Academies Science Advisory Council EASAC
Changing wildfires: policy options for a fire-literate and fire-adapted Europe
There is an increased probability of extreme fires, due mainly to climate change (droughts and declining summer precipitation), rural depopulation, and land-use changes. To respond to this, a new European Academies report is calling for an urgent shift in wildfire policy – from reactive fire suppression to proactive, risk-based land management.
Already today, wildfires burn half a million hectares in the EU yearly on average, i.e. nearly twice the size of Luxembourg. While the Mediterranean remains the highest-risk region, the report warns that continental, alpine, and boreal regions must also prepare for a new era of fire. Instead of focussing on fire suppression and emergency response, the report advocates for an integrated EU framework for landscape fire-risk governance that prioritises prevention alongside these three elements: climate and land-use policies that focus on restoring carbon-rich peatlands and managing forests sustainably; integrate fire risk into biodiversity and tree-planting plans; and educate for a fire-resilient society.
The report under the auspices of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) was drafted by scientists from across Europe. On behalf of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, Marco Conedera, forest engineer at the WSL Campus in Cadenazzo, contributed as a reviewer of a draft version.
Actor constellation - td-net toolbox profile 2 Pohl, C. 2020
This publication describes the actor constellation and is part of a series of tools and methods compiled in the td-net toolbox for co-producing knowledge. Actor constellation is a role-play for identifying the relevance of various involved actors for tackling a specific research question.