This call appeared to be very timely in the context of the Covid-19 pandemics, as the selected projects will deepen our understanding of the relationships that exist between biodiversity and health, including the factors that drive pathogen emergence. This could help us to move health strategies from reaction to more anticipation. BiodivERsA is pleased to announce the publication of a brochure presenting the outputs of the BiodivERsA 2018-2019 Call. 15 funding organisations from 11 countries participated in this call, and 10 projects demonstrating both scientific excellence and societal / policy relevance were selected for a total amount of funding of over 11.8 million euro.
For instance, emerging diseases and pandemics are on the increase and we must not only contain the diseases one after the other, but we also need to understand and tackle the processes allowing their emergence, including the importance of the interlinkages between biodiversity and health.
In this brochure, you will find more information on the call process (from its development to the evaluation and selection of the top proposals), as well as on the profile of both submitted and selected proposals. The brochure also offers a description of the 10 projects that were selected for funding, including one (Biodiv-AFREID) investigating how biodiversity status and alterations might (dis)favour emerging infectious diseases derived from small mammals in African forests, including coronaviruses and another one (BioRodDis) assessing the importance of rodents as potential reservoirs of zoonotic agents, potentially including coronaviruses, in temperate forests and urban areas.
We wish you a pleasant reading!