SEATTLE,
Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --
Woodland Park Zoo Senior Conservation Scientist Lisa Dabek, PhD, is back in Papua New Guinea to continue her work for the
Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP). Over the next few weeks,
Dabek will meet with national government officials and the U.S.
ambassador to Papua New Guinea to
discuss TKCP's goals for 2019 and beyond, which include
incorporating the One Health approach into existing local
governments' initiatives.
"The health of humans, wildlife and the environment is all
interconnected," says Dabek.
Dabek founded TKCP, Woodland Park Zoo's flagship
conservation program, 22 years ago as a study on endangered tree
kangaroos in Papua New Guinea—an
island nation with immense biological diversity that is home to one
of the last remaining intact cloud forests on the planet. But the
same reason that the area is so wonderfully biodiverse and
untouched also accounts for many of the issues that its communities
face regarding health care. Without roads or electricity, access to
remote villages is very limited, which also means those communities
have inadequate access to doctors, supplies, medication and health
education.
TKCP set out to protect the health of Papua New Guinea's wildlife as well as its
people. By working with indigenous landowners and the government,
Dabek's work has blossomed into a comprehensive program that today
protects tree kangaroos and 180,000 acres of tropical cloud forests
in the nation's first Conservation Area (known as Yopno-Uruwa-Som
or YUS), and also improves the quality of life for more than 15,000
people who live there.
TKCP coordinates teams of doctors to travel to YUS to lead
health trainings and workshops. Community participants travel up to
three days by foot to reach the village for this valuable and
quality training.
Dr. Rob Liddell of the
Center for Diagnostic Imaging recently made the trip and brought a
portable X-ray machine and portable ultrasound unit to YUS for the
first time, helping the visiting physicians diagnose a wide range
of health issues for patients. Liddell was one of seven TKCP health
workshop facilitators, which included sessions on childbirth,
reproductive health, nutrition, cancer and more. There was also an
introduction workshop for One Health—a multidisciplinary approach
that connects the health of people to the health of animals and the
environment.
"Because the YUS Conservation Area is so remote, most
resources must come from the landscape, creating a close
relationship among the health of humans, wildlife and the health of
the environment," says Liddell. "We want to develop local capacity
to provide for basic health needs, and help show the links among
human, environmental and animal health."
Moving forward, Woodland Park Zoo has developed a
partnership with the University of
Washington Center for One Health Research and Dr.
Peter Rabinowitz to implement the
One Health approach in YUS. TKCP is also collaborating with the
National Department of Health in Papua
New Guinea to incorporate its "Healthy Island Concept" which
aims to empower and equip individuals, families, and communities to
take ownership of their own health and to seek community support
for health improvement for humans and the environment.
For more information on Woodland Park Zoo's Tree Kangaroo
Conservation Program, visit www.zoo.org/tkcp.
For more information on One Health, visit
deohs.washington.edu/cohr/.
Additional photos available by contacting
WoodlandParkZooPR@zoo.org
Media contact: Gigi Allianic,
Meghan Sawyer
206.548.2550 | woodlandparkzoopr@zoo.org
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SOURCE Woodland Park Zoo