Characterising Biosecurity Initiatives Globally to Support the Development of a Progressive Management Pathway for Terrestrial Animals: A Scoping Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Biosecurity is a strategic and integrated approach to analysing and managing risks to human, animal, and plant life and health, and associated environmental risks to the environment. Despite its growing importance worldwide, not least because of the COVID-19 pandemic, elements and principles needed to successfully expand biosecurity from the local (e.g., enterprises) to the global (e.g., border) level have not been identified. To gain more insights on the current status of biosecurity-relevant literature and elements and principles, a review was performed, including the identification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of existing biosecurity initiatives, projects, and programs. Initial results from this review were complemented with a stakeholder survey. Key results include that most records focus on high-income countries, traditional livestock species (pigs, poultry, large ruminants), viral hazards, and biosecurity at the production level. The findings also highlight the need for initiatives such as the Progressive Management Pathway for Terrestrial Animal Biosecurity (PMP-TAB), currently being designed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to build sustainable biosecurity systems globally. Based on the findings, key elements and recommendations were identified to support the development of progressive pathway approaches for better biosecurity from a One Health perspective. ABSTRACT: While biosecurity is of increasing importance globally, there is still limited evidence of the factors or elements that support the progressive and sustainable scaling up of biosecurity along the value chains from the local to the global level. To gain insight into the current body of literature on biosecurity, a mixed-methods approach was used based on a scoping literature review and an online survey with subject matter experts. Six databases were searched for published literature, and textual information from titles and abstracts of all included records (n = 266) were analysed through inductive content analysis to build biosecurity-relevant categories and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of existing biosecurity systems or initiatives (such as projects or programs). Most records focused on initiatives in high-income countries, traditional livestock species (pigs, poultry, and large ruminants), and the production stage and had a disease-specific focus. No records described a comprehensive or global framework to progressively scale up biosecurity. Overall, the findings highlight the need for initiatives such as the FAO Progressive Management Pathway for Terrestrial Animal Biosecurity (FAO-PMP-TAB), which is a stepwise approach for strengthening biosecurity management along value chains to enhance the health, resilience, and sustainability of animal sectors. The findings highlight important elements and provide recommendations useful for developing approaches or a global framework to progressively improve biosecurity management.