The “Wildlife diseases on the increase” policy brief focuses on Wildlife diseases, highlighting their increase and the threat they pose to Europe’s biodiversity, and proposing policy recommendations using the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) fungus as an example. The 4-page brief is building on the BiodivERsA-funded RACE project (see project page here), lead by Dr. Matthew Fisher, whom has carried out research on the Bd fungus and has quantified its threat in Europe while improving knowledge on the key causes of its spread. One of the final outcomes of the project is a European Threat Abatement Plan soon to be released. The alarming data revealed by the project show the need to address the problems posed by the increasing spread and impact of wildlife diseased in Europe by developing and adopting adequate policy action for which the brief proposes precise recommendations. As warned in the briefing, a new fungal disease was recently discovered on fire salamanders in the Netherlands, indicating the immediate relevance of the recommendations.
These policy briefs are part of a series of briefings produced by BiodivERsA aiming to inform policy makers on key results of selected BiodivERsA funded projects, and to provide them with specific recommendations. They also illustrate the high pertinence of BiodivERsA’s work, and of the research it funds across Europe.