Wildlife and One Health: wildlife ecology, health surveillance and interaction with livestock, human population and environment

According to the specifications of the tender “Wildlife and One Health: wildlife ecology, health surveillance and interaction with livestock, human population and environment” (OC/EFSA/BIOHAW/2022/01), the objectives of the open procurement call for which the consortium ENETWILD 2.0 is proposing to cover, are as follow: 1. to improve and extend the existing published or unpublished data on the ecology, geographical distribution, abundance and structure of selected wildlife species and on the epidemiology of their diseases, including disease surveillance, and ecological and environmental aspects where wildlife species are involved: a. to maintain and implement the European network of wildlife health professionals and data providers established during previous ad hoc projects (European Observatory for Wildlife), with the aim to support the data collection activities and create a network of expert partners working together with EFSA in the field of wildlife research and management; b. to automate as much as possible, the data submission process and data standardisation, the development and promotion of harmonised protocols for wildlife demography and disease surveillance, validation and quality assessment of data submissions; c. to harmonise and store the collected data with suitable tools, to make data accessible by EFSA and selected users and usable for risk assessment at different scales and formats; d. to fill the so far identified data gaps, both for animal species and geographical areas. 2. to generate original data via ad-hoc field studies regarding wildlife populations (distribution, abundance and structure as needed), disease epidemiology, environmental factors relevant to wildlife populations, wildlife management practices, including training on data generation methodologies. 3. to perform data analysis on collected or newly generated data and to model the geographical distribution, abundance and structure of selected wildlife species as well as the occurrence and transmission dynamics of selected diseases in wildlife species and their interaction with livestock, humans and environment, according to the EFSA needs, and to provide interpretation and discussion of the generated results, with the goal of recommending management strategies and to predict emerging issues. 4. to strengthen and foster collaboration on wildlife research activities in the EU and in neighbouring countries, to network with other European or international groups active in the area of wildlife surveillance such as the European Wildlife Disease Association (EWDA), the WOAH Wildlife Disease Working group, FAO, etc. 5. to deliver ad-hoc scientific advice to support EFSA concerning technical questions and advice about possible emerging issues where wildlife could be 14 involved, especially about wildlife demography, ecology, wildlife trade and health issues (e.g. under the form of systematic reviews, field surveys, preparation of fact sheets, data analysis, predictive modelling), including the rapid generation of targeted information on wildlife health and/or wildlife populations in case of emerging health-threatening events or other ecological/sanitary issues. 6. to communicate the results achieved during the project by tailoring the language for the different stakeholders (researchers, managers, hunters, civil society, etc.), through proper channels and communication tools including website, social media, etc. The communication developed with the project shall be synergized with EFSA communication activities.