Is One Health Plant-Blind?
Authors/Creators
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1.
Cyprus Institute
- 2. Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre
- 3. Laboratory of Vector Ecology and Applied Entomology
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4.
Pensoft Publishers (Bulgaria)
- 5. Agentschap Plantentuin Meise
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6.
Université Libre de Bruxelles
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7.
Belgian Federal Science Policy Office
Description
This policy brief argues that current implementations of the One Health framework remain “plant-blind,” overlooking plants as active determinants of health and reinforcing a bias towards animal- and pathogen-focused approaches. This limits prevention by neglecting key ecological drivers such as food system resilience, ecosystem stability, and microbiome interactions.
Despite their central role in nutrition, ecosystem functioning, and disease dynamics, plant health and plant diversity are rarely included in monitoring frameworks, reflecting a systemic governance gap rather than a lack of scientific knowledge.
The brief calls for the integration of plant indicators, stronger investment in biodiversity knowledge systems, and greater inclusion of plant expertise in policy to support a more preventive and resilient One Health approach.