Convened by a network of partner organizations, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, UNDP and others, the first International Conference on the Importance of Biodiversity to Human Health was held from 23-25 August 2005, in Galway, Ireland.

It included an overview session on biodiversity and human health, and sessions on: food security, nutrition and sustainable livelihoods; disease ecology; natural products and drug discovery; systemic approaches to population health; and policy options at the local, regional and international level. In addition to the main conference, the CBD Secretariat convened a workshop on biodiversity indicators for food and medicine.
In a statement released by his office to mark the start of the conference, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted that “over the last 50 years, pollution, climate change, degradation of habitats and the overexploitation of natural resources led to more rapid losses of biological diversity than at any other time in human history.” He also noted that it was important for conference participants to put forward recommendations to guide the international community towards achieving truly sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals.
Links to further information
Conference website
Secretary-General stresses importance of biodiversity to human health, UN Press Release, 23 August 2005
“Biodiversity loss ‘poses grave threat to human health’,” SciDev.Net, 24 August 2005