Global changes, biodiversity and the ecology of infectious diseases

Abstract:
Prof Serge will first summarize how multiple factors at the global scale are driving the number of epidemics, including urban demographic transitions, the global dominance of domestic animal biomass, agricultural expansion, deforestation, the expansion of commercial plantations, and the decline of biodiversity. He will then present our past and ongoing studies conducted at the local scale linking land use changes, biodiversity, and health in a One Health approach and built with local communities and administrations. Finally, He will show how the ecological and environmental disciplines can contribute to the science-policy dialogue for a prevention of emerging infectious diseases at the source.

Speaker:
Prof Serge Morand
HealthDEEP, CNRS, Kasetsart University, Mahidol University,
Bangkok, Thailand

Biography:
With a strong background in evolutionary ecology of disease transmission, I focus my research on health ecology. Field disease ecologist, I am concerned at the role of biodiversity as risks but insurance for zoonotic emerging infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance raise. During the last 10 years I conducted 35 field trips in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines) totalling more than 380 days of field works. I have conducted several projects on the impacts of global changes, including climate and land use changes, on the links between biodiversity, health and societies in Southeast Asia, using wildlife-borne diseases as a model (projects ANR CERoPath and ANR BiodivHealthSEA. The new ongoing project, ANR FutureHealthSEA aims at building scenarios of health and biodiversity in links with land use changes and governance. I have published articles, edited special issues and books on this topic, with the last ones “Socio-ecological Dimensions of Infectious Diseases in Southeast Asia” (2015 Springer Singapore), “Biodiversity Conservation in Southeast Asia: Challenges in a Changing Environment” (2017 EarthScan London), and “Biodiversity and Health. Linking Life, Ecosystems and Societies” (2017, ISTE-Elsevier, London) (see https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Serge_Morand). I belong to the French CNRS, based in Thailand at the Faculty of Veterinary Technology (Kasetsart University), and invited Professor at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine (Mahidol University).