Land cover and land use have established effects on hazard and exposure tovector-borne diseases. While our understanding of the proximate and dis-tant causes and consequences of land use decisions has evolved, the focuson the proximate effects of landscape on disease ecology remains domi-nant. We argue that land use governance, viewed through a land systemlens, affects tick-borne disease risk. Governance affects land use trajectoriesand potentially shapes landscapes favourable to ticks or increases contactwith ticks by structuring human-land interactions. We illustrate the role ofland use legacies, trade-offs in land-use decisions, and social inequities inaccess to land resources, information and decision-making, with threecases: Kyasanur Forest disease in India, Lyme disease in the OuterHebrides (Scotland), and tick acaricide resistance in cattle in Ecuador. Landuse governance is key to managing the risk of tick-borne diseases, byaffecting the hazard and exposure. We propose that land use governanceshould consider unintended consequences on infectious disease risk.
Vanwambeke, S., Lambin, E., Meyfroidt, P., Asaaga, F. A., Millins, C., & Purse, B. V. (2024). Land system governance shapes tick-related public and animal health risks. Journal of Land Use Science, 19(1), 78-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/1747423x.2024.2330379 (Original work published 2024)