The report demonstrates that the relationship between biodiversity and human health is extensive and complex.
A
ground-breaking report on biodiversity and health, launched today at
the 14th World Congress on Public Health, in Kolkata, India, shows the
significant contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem services to
better human health. The report, Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health,
demonstrates that the relationship between biodiversity and human
health is extensive and complex. It outlines the ways that the
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity has positive impacts on
human health, including through impacts on water and air quality,
nutrition, non-communicable and infectious diseases, and medicines,
among others. Prepared by the Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (SCBD) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the
report features contributions from numerous partners and over 100
experts, including Bioversity International, COHAB Initiative, EcoHealth
Alliance, Harvard School of Public Health, United Nations University,
Wildlife Conservation Society's Health & Ecosystems: Analysis of
Linkages and many others.
"We hope this joint report will
increase awareness and understanding not only of the intrinsic value of
biodiversity, but also as a critical foundation for sustainable
development, and for human health and well-being," said Dr. Maria Neira, WHO Director for Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. "In
particular, it should serve as a useful reference for the definition of
the sustainable development goals and the post-2015 development agenda,
which represent a unique opportunity to promote integrated approaches
to protect human and planetary health." Braulio Ferreira de Souza
Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and
Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, said "Despite the
clear role that biodiversity plays for human health, and thus for the
Sustainable Development Goals, this linkage is not being made in policy
forums. Hopefully this new report will help shed some light on this
critical issue." The report provides specific examples of the
relationship for a number of issue areas including: water, air quality
and human health; biodiversity, food production and nutrition; microbial
diversity and non-communicable disease; infectious diseases; medicines,
including traditional medicine; physical, mental and cultural
well-being; pharmaceuticals and biodiversity; climate change and
disaster risk reduction; and sustainable consumption and production.
Highlights of the report include:
Biodiversity, Food Production and Nutrition –
Biodiversity is the basis for crops, livestock and farmed fish and
other parts of agricultural production and aquaculture. Genetic
diversity within these ensures continuing improvements in food
production, allows adaptation to current needs and ensures adaptability
to future ones including climate change. The loss of biodiversity in
agro-ecosystems is increasing the vulnerability and reducing the
sustainability of many production systems with negative effects on human
health. The report also points out that a diversity of species,
varieties and breeds, as well as wild food and medicinal sources (fish,
plants, bushmeat, insects and fungi) underpins dietary diversity, good
nutrition and health. For this reason, reduced access to and global
declines in terrestrial, marine and freshwater systems will present
major public health challenges for resource-dependent human populations,
particularly in low- and middle- income countries. Some dietary
patterns that offer substantial health benefits, such as diets
characterised by reduced meat consumption could also reduce climate
change and pressures on biodiversity.
Microbial Diversity and non-communicable diseases –
Humans, like most living things, have a microbiota - ecological
communities of commensal, symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms that
literally share our body space and outnumber our human cells ten to one.
The majority of these microbes provide vital functions for human
survival. The report points out that interaction with microbes present
in the environment are an important part of the healthy maintenance of
our human microbiota. Reduced contact of people with the natural
environment and biodiversity, and biodiversity loss in the wider
environment, leads to reduced diversity in the human microbiota, which
itself can lead to immune dysfunction and disease. Considering microbial
diversity as an ecosystem service provider may contribute to bridging
the chasm between ecology and medicine/immunology, by considering
microbial diversity in public health and conservation strategies aimed
at maximising services obtained from ecosystems.
Infectious diseases
– Biodiversity plays a complex role in disease emergence, with benefits
in some contexts and threats to human health in others. Human changes
to and degradation of ecosystems, such as modified landscapes, intensive
agriculture and antimicrobial use, may increase the risk of infectious
disease transmission. While areas of high biodiversity may, in some
cases, contain a high number of potential pathogens and contribute to
the spread of disease, in some contexts biodiversity may also serve as a
protective factor for preventing or reducing exposure to infectious
agents.
Conclusions – The report concludes with
recommendation for health and biodiversity strategies. It calls for the
creation of coherent cross-sectoral strategies that ensure that
biodiversity and health linkages are widely recognized, valued, and
reflected in national public health and biodiversity conservation
policies. They also need to be coordinated with programs and plans of
other relevant sectors. Their implementation could be a joint
responsibility of ministries of health, environment and other relevant
ministries responsible for environmental health programmes and national
biodiversity strategies and action plans. In all cases, they should be
developed and implemented with the involvement of local communities.
Given the interconnected nature of these challenges, there is a need for
policy makers to coordinate their responses. The report suggests that
the solution lies in uniting work in social and natural sciences through
integrative and interdisciplinary approaches such as the ecosystem,
ecohealth, and One Health approach, in order to develop cooperation and
mutual understanding that can lead to the production of knowledge and
recommendations that can be used by policy makers and practitioners.
UNEP – 14-02-2015