PLOS Climate Journal spotlights HIH Madagascar

Health In Harmony advocates that the next 10 years represent a window of opportunity to improve the effectiveness of integrated conservation and health programs. 

We are grateful that this important goal was recently highlighted in a new review published in PLOS Climate Journal. 

The article spotlights Health In Harmony’s work – and associated research effort – in the Manombo Forest of Madagascar (and especially in fragmented edge areas) over a ten-year period:

“Health In Harmony (HIH) is applying a One Health approach in a long-term, prospective study to monitor the impact of reforestation and community-designed forest conservation interventions on spillover risk, coincident with surveillance of biodiversity and human and wildlife health.”

“All of this requires dedicated management to a complex set of logistics – to enable high-frequency field-based data collection for wildlife and human health, as well as forest condition, across multiple data sources.”

By collecting data across a diverse and comprehensive set of indicators related to biodiversity, forest condition, wildlife health and human health, Health In Harmony aims to empirically respond to the question: 

Do community-designed solutions for forest conservation in Manombo, Madagascar restore biodiversity, improve wildlife and human health, and reduce the risk of zoonotic spillover? 

In the process, this research has the potential to remedy the knowledge gaps that exist with respect to the linkages between ecosystem and human health. 

Kelsey Hartman, Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)

To learn more about Health In Harmony’s science approach to understanding environment and health, especially zoonosis spillover risk, read the full article below: Applications of implementation science in integrated conservation + health programs: Improved learning to achieve environmental and health objectives.