Perspectives on One Health and the environment at SLU. A conceptually based overview and strategies for the future
This report focuses on how the environmental dimension is incorporated in One Health (OH) with a specific focus on SLU researchers.
The material largely confirms the assumption that the environmental dimension is modestly included but also highlight that there are challenges to incorporating it. A conceptual analysis supplemented by empirical material provides the foundation for recommendations to solidify the inclusion of the environmental dimension of OH at SLU. Recommendations are provided throughout the report.
Starting with noting a core ambiguity in the OH concept allowing both a wide and a narrow interpretation, four conditions of the definition are identified: The Unification condition, the Aim condition, the Sustainability condition, and the Health condition. The conditions are used analytically to scrutinize how they can be balanced, before proceeding with a discussion on how the environmental dimension can be assessed and included.
Before summarizing the report, contrasts between the findings at SLU and existing research on how the OH concept has been implemented at Swedish governmental agencies will be discussed with a specific focus on the environmental dimension.
The report was initiated and funded through a call launched in 2024 by SLU Future One Health for researchers to write reports on One Health and the environment. As the environmental aspect of One Health is more recent, and less specified, than human/animal health, there was a need to concretise SLU’s focus and work within this field. Two reports were written on previous and current SLU research in environmental issues linked to One Health, and future perspectives of this research (both within SLU and on a global scale). The aim of the reports are to identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities for enhancing SLU's contribution to the environmental parts of One Health.
Links
A scientific article by Patrik Baard written in parallel with the report:
Baard, P. (2025). Unpacking the Ethics of One Health. Journal of Applied Animal Ethics Research, 7(2), 169-187.
Read the second report in the series on One Health and the environment:
One Health and the Environment at SLU: Current Status and Opportunities by Amrei Binzer-Panchal, Anna Székely, Erik Bongcam-Rudloff, Maja Malmberg and Stefan Bertilsson, SLU Future One Health reports number 4, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2025.