Online | Zoonotic Disease Emergence and the EU’s Global Environmental/Land Use Footprint

Zoonotic Disease Emergence and the EU’s Global Environmental/Land Use Footprint: Limits and Possibilities
 

Speaker

Professor Joanne Scott (Professor of European Law, European University Institute, Florence)

Chaired by
Professor Steven Vaughan (Professor of Law and Professional Ethics, UCL Laws)

About this talk

Current studies of viral transmission between animals and humans suggest that the risk for disease emergence is highest in tropical forest regions characterized by high mammal biodiversity and undergoing anthropogenic land use changes (Dobson et al). Both deforestation and the handling of wildlife increase the risk of virus spillovers to humans. A ‘structural one health’ approach explores the socio-economic drivers of land-use change and cautions against conflating the location and causes of disease emergence. Drawing insights from this approach, this lecture will examine Europe’s role in global deforestation and legal/illegal trade in wildlife. It will analyse the EU’s current efforts to mitigate complicity in activities that lead to deforestation and land use changes that can increase the risk of the emergence of zoonotic diseases and suggest ways in which these could be strengthened. It will also acknowledge the existence of clear limits to what the EU can achieve.

About the speaker

Professor Joanne Scott’s main areas of expertise are European Union Law and WTO Law. She has published extensively on law and new modes of governance, environmental law and policy, and on the intersections between different sub- national, national and international legal orders. Following the award of a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust (2012-2014), her recent work has been concerned with the theme of EU extraterritoriality. Prior to her appointment at the EUI, Professor Scott was Professor of European Law at UCL. Joanne was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in 2013 and as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2012.

The Centre for Law and the Environment

The Centre for Law and Environment was established to provide a focal point for the UCL Faculty of Laws' outstanding expertise and academic strength in the field of the environment and the law. The main goals of the Centre are to advance research and teaching and explore the role of law in meeting contemporary environmental and energy challenges.