Earth Day 2008 Meeting in Washington, D.C. 

On April 22—Earth Day—at a meeting in Washington, D.C., hosted by The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment, Envirovet leaders met with representatives from federal and international agencies and global organizations concerned with the environment and society at large to explain the program's mission and how it promotes human, animal, and ecosystem health. (The following is a complete list of the groups represented at the meeting): 

American Association of Zoo Veterinarians 
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Government Relations Division
American Veterinary Medical Association’s One Health Task Force
Executive Office of Science and Technology Programs (White House)
H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment
National Council on Science and the Environment (NCSE) 
University of California-Davis, Wildlife Health Center 
University of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine
US Agency for International Development (AID)
US Department of Agriculture - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 
US Fish & Wildlife Service, Africa Programs 
US Department of Defense—Global Emerging Infections Surveillance Program
US Department of Homeland Security 
US National Institutes of Health 
US Smithsonian Institution—National Zoological Park 
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine 
Wildlife Conservation Society 
World Conservation Union (IUCN)
World Bank 

The meeting helped a range of agencies, most of which had heard of Envirovet, to gain a much clearer understanding of how Envirovet serves as a vital catalyst for the veterinary profession to contribute to synchronous stewardship of wildlife, domestic animal, public, and economic health.  The meeting also highlighted the many ways in which environmental calamities are delivered to the veterinarian’s doorstep, such as emerging zoonotic diseases, declines in biodiversity and endangered species stewardship and reproduction, and understanding and controlling contaminants that impact wildlife, domestic animal, and human health.  

The meeting stimulated new dialogs on partnerships between Envirovet, government agencies, and entities such as the World Bank and the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the AVMA—all of which have overlapping missions.  

It was announced at the meeting that Envirovet is forming a new not-for-profit 501C3 corporation, which will build upon and maintain established links with the University of Illinois, the University of California-Davis, White Oak Conservation Center, and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution of Florida Atlantic University.  Participants learned how Envirovet will continue to offer its Summer Institutes with components devoted to terrestrial, aquatic, and developing country challenges, and how the program also is working toward developing regional groups (the first of which is Envirovet Baltic) in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.  

At the meeting it was announced that Envirovet, Inc. will have an Advisory Committee, and that Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, President of the H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment, will be its inaugural Chairperson.  

For a synopsis of the meeting at the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, please go to:  (http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jun08/080615m.asp).