The life-cycles of Echinococcus species range from merely sylvatic to merely domestic. Furthermore, several species and genotypes can co-exist locally in world ecosystems. There, the range of Echinococcus species and genotypes and the number of host species also pose substantial problems when it comes to understand life-cycle and exposure routes. Even within a single species such as Echinococcus multilocularis differences in transmission ecology can have important consequences in term of public health and optimization of control strategy. Those potentially applied issues call for reinforcing basic research on Echinococcus species and genotypes ecology. Based on examples, here we present an overview about the world ecosystems conducive to Echinococcus parasite transmission, and how anthropogenic disturbance can lead to transmission re-enforcement, sustained stability or to extinction in various conditions. We present why systems approach is essential to insert Echinococcus control in a larger scope where the ultimate causes of transmission can be taken into account. We illustrate this in describing how some surveillance systems work and how they could be improved or implemented elsewhere to better prevent public health hazards.