A One Health Approach to Combatting COVID-19 and Illegal Wildlife Trade in Africa

This policy brief argues for the adoption of a 'One Health' approach in Africa to simultaneously address human health, biodiversity loss, and the climate crisis. It specifically highlights the risks of the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and the legal wildlife trade as drivers of zoonotic disease spill-over, warning that blanket bans on wildlife markets could inadvertently increase IWT and habitat destruction. The document recommends integrating IWT combatting into multi-sectoral policies and utilizing green stimulus packages to provide financial incentives and alternative livelihoods for rural communities most affected by economic decline.

• The 'One Health' approach, which integrates human, animal, and environmental health, is presented as a highly cost-effective strategy for preventing pandemics, with estimated costs being only one-hundredth of the economic damage caused by pandemics.
• Blanket bans on wildlife trade and 'wet markets' are deemed unworkable because millions of people rely on them for food and employment. Such bans could push the trade underground, expanding the unregulated illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and increasing the risk of zoonotic spill-over.
• A study of food systems across 83 countries indicates that a sudden ban on wild meat could require over 120,000km² of new agricultural land for replacement livestock, potentially increasing pandemic risks by pushing agriculture further into intact biodiversity habitats.
• The legal wildlife trade is identified as a significant risk for zoonotic disease transmission, potentially equal to or greater than the risk from IWT due to its larger scale. The CITES Standing Committee noted in May 2021 the necessity of addressing these inherent vulnerabilities.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has increased poverty and food insecurity, particularly in Africa, which may drive rural populations toward IWT for survival. While lockdowns temporarily reduced some poaching—such as a 33% decline in local rhino poaching in South Africa during 2020—these effects are considered temporary.
• To effectively reduce IWT and zoonotic risk, the document recommends using green stimulus packages to provide financial incentives to source countries and investing in alternative livelihoods for rural and indigenous communities who live closest to the human-livestock-wildlife interface.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2021). A One Health Approach to Combatting COVID-19 and Illegal Wildlife Trade in Africa. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-one-health-approach-to-combatting-covid-19-and-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-africa/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. A One Health Approach to Combatting COVID-19 and Illegal Wildlife Trade in Africa. 2021. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-one-health-approach-to-combatting-covid-19-and-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=A One Health Approach to Combatting COVID-19 and Illegal Wildlife Trade in Africa |date=28 June 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/a-one-health-approach-to-combatting-covid-19-and-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2021one, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{A One Health Approach to Combatting COVID-19 and Illegal Wildlife Trade in Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/a-one-health-approach-to-combatting-covid-19-and-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }