The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have released a report titled 'Connecting Global Priorities - Biodiversity and Human Health,' which reviews the current knowledge on linkages between biodiversity and human health, and the impact of a decline in biodiversity and ecosystem services on health.
Based on knowledge from a wide range of scientific disciplines, this publication provides a comprehensive overview of the complex relationships between biodiversity and human health in thematic areas.
It also profiles linkages to other global concerns, including climate change and to the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
4 June 2015: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have released a report, titled ‘Connecting Global Priorities – Biodiversity and Human Health,’ which reviews current knowledge on the linkages between biodiversity and human health, and the impact of a decline in biodiversity and ecosystem services on health. Based on knowledge from a wide range of scientific disciplines, this publication provides a comprehensive overview of the complex relationships between biodiversity and human health in thematic areas. It also profiles linkages to other global concerns, including climate change and to the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The report addresses thematic areas in which biodiversity and ecosystem services influence the determinants of human health, including: water resources and wetland ecosystems; air quality; food security; nutrition; infectious diseases; noncommunicable diseases; biomedical discovery; health care and pharmaceuticals; traditional medicine; and mental, physical and cultural dimensions of health.
With regard to cross-cutting issues, the report reviews knowledge on the relevance of biodiversity-health linkages for the following global concerns: climate change; increasing resilience and disaster risk reduction; and sustainable consumption for a growing world population. The report further reviews ways to integrate health and biodiversity strategies and identifies needs for further research.
The final section of the publication discusses how health and biodiversity linkages can be reflected in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. It recommends that the linkages be well integrated with other sustainable development concerns including by performing an evaluation of synergistic and antagonistic effects of complementary SDGs and targets, and by recognizing the role of conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity with regard to the ecosystem-based determinants human health. [CBD/WHO Press Release] [Publication: Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health] [Key Messages] [Bioversity International Interview with Lead Author Danny Hunter]