Abstract
Based on the interdisciplinary concept of One Health, EcoHealth, and Planetary Health, this paper focuses on participatory knowledge-to-action approaches by relating one decade of environmental disasters in Brazil with the action of veterinary rescue teams, aiming to give support to future disaster preparedness. This paper will present the historic actions of teams rescuing animal that are victims of environmental disasters, in addition to addressing the need for contingency plans and response management in these types of events. The main events in Brazilian states where veterinary rescue teams participated were, chronologically, as follows: 2011 flood and landslide (Rio de Janeiro); 2012 flood (Acre, Minas Gerais, and Pará); 2015 dam break (Minas Gerais); 2017 flood (Minas Gerais) and forest fire (Minas Gerais and Goiás); 2019 dam break and evacuation (Minas Gerais) and flood (Bahia); 2020 flood (Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais) and forest fires (Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul). The Brazilian disasters that had a large global repercussion were the ruptures of the ore dams in Marina (2015) and Brumadinho (2019), both in the State of Minas Gerais. The role of veterinarians in these events was recognized by the Federal Council of Veterinary Medicine (CFMV) after their performance in Mariana, Minas Gerais (2015), and in 2020, the CFMV approved the National Mass Disaster Contingency Plan Involving Animals. The work of veterinarians in interaction with other professionals in environmental disasters proved to be effective and necessary for the rescue of animals and for planning and giving support to disaster preparedness in the future.
Highlights
The term “disaster” has different concepts, but the concepts invariably refer to at least one of these factors: threat, vulnerability, risk, exposure, and responsiveness [1]
In 2011, with the catastrophe caused by heavy rains and landslides that had hit the mountainous region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the city of Nova Friburgo, the first team of veterinary medical professionals, originating from the State of Minas Gerais, started to voluntarily train themselves to act in rescues of domestic animals in situations of environmental disasters [9]
The disaster veterinary medicine is an emerging area with a strong humanitarian bias and requires social motivation because there are several situations that professionals face in these occurrences that require preparation and continuous training
Summary
The term “disaster” has different concepts, but the concepts invariably refer to at least one of these factors: threat, vulnerability, risk, exposure, and responsiveness [1] Disasters, regardless of their technical classification, are undesirable and unpredictable events that generate great instabilities in an affected population, negatively impacting directly and indirectly. The professionals of these teams must have multidisciplinary skills from previous training, as well as adequate resources for proper support [4, 5] In some countries, such as the United States, disaster response teams are composed of firefighters, doctors, paramedics, engineers, and machinery operators (tractors and cranes), specialized in rescue, with the duty to locate, extract, and provide assistance [6, 7]. This paper will present a brief overview of the historic actions of volunteer veterinarians in rescuing animal victims of environmental disasters, in addition to addressing the need for contingency plans and response management in these types of events
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