Alianza One Health Selva Maya (AOHSM)

The Selva Maya is Centralamerica’s largest rainforest and is home to over 20 ecosystems, thus a biodiversity hotspot. At the same time, the natural resources are highly endangered by anthropegenic threats such as deforestation, forest fires, fragmentation of habitats for agriculture and cattle, tourism. The tropical climate favours vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria and yellow fever. Due to unregulated trafic, commerce and consumption of wildlife and wildlife products humans and their pets get into ever closer contact with the fauna, all of which increases the risks of zoonotic spillovers. Hence, the GIZ Selva Maya programme coordinated a process of co-creation with all relevant stakeholders from the three countries from politics, academia, civil society, NGOs to forge an alliance to reduce the risks of zoonosis and improve the overall wellbeing of the flora and fauna of the Selva Maya. Through a series of meetings the stakeholders launched the Alianza One Health Selva Maya (AOHSM).