Dear ECOLOGers, I've recently been asked to put together a series of notes on the potential for ecological restoration, agroecology, regenerative agriculture, etc. in mitigating infectious disease risks.
In working informally in agricultural/agroecological circles for the last few years, including Canada, the US and East Africa, I've been both alarmed by some of the risks that people take (e.g. with mixing livestock, wildlife, and humans; foraging, forest garden development, creating potential water and waste management hazards) and encouraged by some of their (generally undocumented) results, (e.g. improved waste and water management, increased soil fertility and crop/nutrient provision, socioeconomic improvement). Certainly many of the intentions are noble but I would like to address some of the very significant potential pitfalls - and opportunities to improve best practices - for people that lack, and are not likely to ever get, formal training in public health management, disease control, or similar fields. I'm interested in hearing from anyone that may have comments on this/these issue(s) or thoughts on the matter, generally; and if they can be backed by references, in particular: anecdotal stories are fine, as are comments on your own perception of risks and potentials for both harm reduction/risk mitigation, and improvement of living standards, nutrition, animal welfare, etc. Please email me directly at susan.cousin...@gmail.com. Many thanks. -- M.Sc. Evolution 2012 (France/Netherlands) BSc. Ecology Hon 1st, University of Calgary, Canada “Education, if it means anything, should not take people away from land, but instill in them even more respect for it, because educated people are in a position to understand what is being lost. The future of the planet concerns all of us, and we should do what we can to protect it. As I told the foresters, and the women, you don't need a diploma to plant a tree." ----- Wangari Muta Maathai – *Unbowed*, pp. 137–138.
