The Forgotten Gatekeepers of One Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56450/JEFI.2026.v4i02.009Keywords:
One HealthAbstract
The One Health approach has gained increasing prominence as a framework that recognizes the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health. It is an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of people, animals, plants and ecosystems. It uses the close, interdependent links between these fields to create new surveillance and disease control methods. In India, where biodiversity hotspots coexist with dense human and livestock populations, successful implementation of One Health requires active engagement with communities that live at the human- animal-ecosystem interface. Among these, the Van Gujjars, a semi-nomadic pastoralist community inhabiting the forests of the Shivalik region across Uttarakhand and adjoining states represent an underrecognized yet strategically important stakeholder.
Downloads
References
1. Alice Wright, Michael Thrusfield, Perceptions of zoonotic and animal diseases in the Van Gujjar community of North India, Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2016;123(1):143-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.11.012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.11.012
2. Dhiman RC, Pahwa S, Dhillon GPS, Dash AP. Climate change and threat of vector-borne diseases in India: are we prepared?. Parasitol Res 2010;106:763–773. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-010-1767-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-010-1767-4
3. Nusrat R, Pattanaik BK., Nehal A.. Adaptation and coexistence of Van Gujjars in the forests: A success story Rubina Farooquee Available form https://hdl.handle.net/10535/7314 (Accessed on 25 Jun 2026)
4. Padhi A. Agarwal A. (2024) To handle zoonoses better, Indigenous people must be included in policy making, Nature India. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44151-024-00127-2?utm_source=chatgpt.com (Accessed: 25 June 2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/d44151-024-00127-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d44151-024-00127-2
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Pradeep Aggarwal (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.