The One Health approach encourages multisectoral consideration of the interactions at the humananimal-plant-environment interface and interdependencies between elements to foster greater collaboration for prevention, preparedness and response to health challenges. The approach can help to reconcile areas that require trade-offs, such as in cases where disease control interventions negatively affect biodiversity and the environment or where ecosystem degradation increases the risk of zoonotic spillover. The role of the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems needs to be clearly understood and mainstreamed to other relevant sectors to achieve a balanced consideration of the environment within the One Health approach. 16 Read more about the authors: Thato Mogapi and Bonolo Nemukula Discussions on the environment action track in South Africa’s One Health Implementation Framework draft document during the validation workshop, held between 9 and 11 February 2026 in Pretoria, highlighted the need to map existing knowledge, research, policies and legislative frameworks, programmes, initiatives and role players. In doing so, gaps and opportunities may be identified, including priority areas where there’s a clear, direct link and need for a One Health approach to address more urgent issues, as well as low-hanging fruit to demonstrate the effectiveness of the One Health approach for replication and scaling up. Integration of the One Health approach in national environmental strategic frameworks – such as the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, the National Invasive Species Strategy and Action Plan, and the National Climate Change and Health Adaptation Plan – is a step in the right direction to strengthen the environment pillar. Aligning these strategies with global frameworks such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the associated Global Action Plan on Biodiversity and Health, places South Africa in a position to demonstrate its commitment to tackling global crises like climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, alongside those that affect human, animal and plant health.
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