Wildlife Disease Risk Analysis (online)

WDRA WDRA

Wildlife Disease Risk Analysis (online)

Course Dates & Live Sessions:

The next date for this course is:

25 August-24 October 2025 

Registration closes one month before the start date.

 

Course Introduction:

Disease is a primary driver of wildlife population declines worldwide. As these populations shrink or fragment, the dynamics of stable ecological systems are disrupted resulting in closer contact between wildlife, domestic animals and people, and providing novel opportunities for pathogen transmission. Where disease is a direct threat to species conservation, or wildlife are implicated as a vector or reservoir of disease impacting domestic animals and/or people, Wildlife Disease Risk Analysis (WDRA) can help decision-makers determine how best to respond. Structured WDRA presents an opportunity for multiple stakeholders with varied interests to develop collaborative plans that benefit all those involved and ensure the conservation of threatened species, wherever they exist. The IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG) led the development of the IUCN Guidelines for Wildlife Disease Risk Analysis, published in 2014. This online course is designed for those who wish to put these guidelines into practice.

CPSG has the ambition of ensuring that 'every species that needs a plan is covered by an effective, implemented plan’. This online course has been designed to add to the resources available for this ambition to become a reality. Our target audiences are government wildlife agency staff, IUCN SSC Specialist Group members, and other conservation professionals and veterinarians working in zoos, aquariums, universities or field programs, responsible for planning for disease management at the interface between people, places and wildlife.

 

Learning Outcomes:

This course is designed to equip participants with an understanding of how to put the IUCN Guidelines for Wildlife Disease Risk Analysis into practice.


By the end participants will be able to:

-Recognize and justify situations where a WDRA process can contribute to
a) Wildlife conservation
b) Domestic animal health care
c) Public health protection

-Explain how the principle of One Health and the science of epidemiology are applied to a WDRA

-Design a workshop to effectively engage multiple stakeholders in completing a
WDRA

 

Course Format:

This online course (delivered through www.conservationtraining.org/) consists of pre-recorded lectures, reading materials, and problem solving activities along with ‘live’ webinars and discussions. Assessed groupwork is included in the program. You will also interact with some of the world’s leading experts on WDRA, communication and multi-stakeholder planning processes.

Pre- recorded sessions can be listened to in your own time. Live webinars will be repeated each week to accommodate different time zones. 

Costs:

The cost for participating in this course is US $500. This does not reflect the true cost or value of this training as CPSG is committed to reducing financial barriers to training that will benefit threatened species worldwide. This is currently possible only due to the support received from the Global Conservation Network, (GCN) a group of institutions and individuals who support CPSG work. If you or your organization would like to consider becoming a GCN donor, or if you would like to learn more about CPSG, please contact: onnie@cpsg.org. A limited number of scholarships are available for this course. If you would like to discuss this opportunity, or have other questions, please contact: jamie@cpsg.org.

 

Course Duration:

This course contains eight modules spread over nine weeks, requiring 4-6hrs of work per week, depending on how quickly you can work through course content.

 

Certification:

Participants successfully completing the course will receive a Certificate of Completion from CPSG. Those going further to apply the skills to undertake WDRA processes following the training can be considered for a Certificate of Reflective Practice (additional assessment criteria apply). If you successfully complete the course, you will also have the opportunity to attend Planning Clinics in which you can present your projects and receive expert advice.

 

Application:

Participant selection will take into account priority target groups (government staff and SSC Specialist Group members in particular), and an assessment of the likelihood that skills and knowledge developed will be put into practice within species conservation planning workshops.
 

To apply, please fill out the application form found on the left by clicking 'Apply Here'


For further information contact:

Jamie Copsey at jamie@cpsg.org

Cost
US $500
Duration
9 weeks, 4-6hrs per week

“The WDRA course is a wonderful opportunity for both people starting in this field and seasoned experts. The course is built in an easy-to-follow way and provides excellent material that you can then apply to your own projects. Importantly, the team members are incredibly knowledgeable. They have real-life experience, which makes it a great opportunity to talk to experts in their respective fields. I totally recommend this course if you have the opportunity.”

-Course Participant