Workshop for the National Focal Points of Wildlife Europe and Central Asia

The Workshop for the WOAH National Focal Points for Wildlife (NFPW) in Europe and Central Asia was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 25–26 June 2025. The event was hosted by the National Food Agency of Georgia and gathered National Focal Points representing 32 countries of the region, alongside invited speakers from the Swedish Veterinary Agency, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

The main objective of the meeting was to strengthen the knowledge, collaboration, and practical capacities of NFPWs to address wildlife health priorities in the framework of the WOAH Wildlife Health Programme Implementation Plan for Europe and Central Asia. The workshop focused on three main areas:

Strengthening One Health multisectoral collaboration and capacity for wildlife health management.
Enhancing wildlife health surveillance, monitoring, and management capacities.
Improving response capacities to wildlife disease outbreaks.

Background

WOAH works to improve animal health worldwide, contributing to a safer, healthier, and more sustainable future. Recognising that wildlife health is an essential component of this goal, WOAH has taken steps to address the growing challenges posed by emerging infectious diseases, biodiversity loss, and environmental changes.

In 2020, WOAH launched the Wildlife Health Programme and its Wildlife Health Framework to provide Member States with capacity building, technical resources, and guidance to prevent, detect, and control wildlife diseases – including zoonotic diseases – while protecting biodiversity, under a One Health approach.

Following a series of workshops based on the WOAH’s Six Cycles of Training Manuals on Wildlife Health, the 2025 meeting was designed to focus on priority topics identified by the NFPWs themselves, marking the launch of the Implementation Plan for Europe and Central Asia.

Goals

In preparation for this meeting, the WOAH Sub-Regional Representation in Brussels carried out a consultation with NFPWs to identify wildlife health priorities for the next two years. The workshop aimed to:

Launch the regional Implementation Plan of the Wildlife Health Programme.
Facilitate the exchange of technical knowledge and experiences among countries.
Agree on concrete actions and next steps for sub-regional collaboration on the identified priorities.

The event combined theoretical sessions, where international experts provided context and insights, with working group discussions, where participants collaborated to define practical steps for joint action. Ahead of the technical sessions, participants visited the Tbilisi Zoo, where local veterinarians presented ongoing conservation projects in Georgia and shared challenges faced in managing wild animals under human care. The day concluded with a guided visit to Tbilisi’s historic old town, organised by the National Food Agency of Georgia.