SSC On Topic 9: Biodiversity and Health

Published on 6 October 2022 at 09:43

What are the Linkages between Biodiversity and Health?

Biodiversity and human health are closely interlinked across a wide range of scales, from the planetary to that of individual human microbiota.

The interactions between biodiversity and health are manifested at multiple scales from individuals, through communities and landscapes to a planetary scale.

  • At the scale of the individual person, the human microbiota contributes to our nutrition, helps regulate our immune system, and prevent infection.
  • At the community level, many aspects of biodiversity support agricultural production and shape spiritual and cultural values.
  • The functioning and integrity of the biosphere at a planetary scale is also understood to depend on biodiversity. Ecosystems depend on a great diversity of organisms to provide the necessary services for life, including food, clean air, the quantity and quality of fresh water.

Why is it Important?

The linkages between biodiversity and human health presents a broad range of opportunities for jointly protecting health and biodiversity, and for advancing human well-being

Biodiversity encompasses all the complex interactions between living organisms that form the perfectly balanced ecosystems which support life: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. There is no human health without biodiversity, which is also integral to development sectors that modulate health outcomes, such as pharmacy, biochemistry, biotechnology and agriculture.

Over the last decade, the multiplicity and complexity of linkages between biodiversity and human health have been increasingly recognized. However, we can improve our understanding of the complex linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human health and promote co-benefits through more integrated policies and implementation activities by strengthening collaboration with the health sector and mainstreaming biodiversity and health linkages into national strategies policies, programmes, accounts and reporting instruments.

What's the Problem?

Biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and negative health outcomes share many common drivers, due to anthropogenic environmental and socioeconomic changes

The current rate of biodiversity loss may have grave consequences and hamper efforts to meet a range of Sustainable Development Goals and Targets, including those related to poverty, hunger and health. Vulnerable populations including the poor, marginalized, women and children, will likely suffer first and most severely as they often rely more directly on biodiversity and associated ecosystem services for their very survival. The underlying causes of biodiversity loss, climate change and negative health outcomes are common: change in land-use and habitat, unsustainable food production practices, overharvesting, deforestation, water management processes, urbanization, use of pesticides and antimicrobials, climate change, migration, international travel and trade, etc.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of the relationship between people and nature

While the relationship between biodiversity and infectious disease is complex, it is clear that the loss and degradation of biodiversity undermines the web of life and increases the risk of disease spillover from wildlife to people. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgency of addressing the biodiversity crisis and the need for transformative change.

What Needs to be Done?

The linkages between biodiversity and human health presents a broad range of opportunities for jointly protecting health and biodiversity, and for advancing human well-being

Over the last decade, the multiplicity and complexity of linkages between biodiversity and human health have been increasingly recognized. However, we can improve our understanding of the complex linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human health and promote co-benefits through more integrated policies and implementation activities by strengthening collaboration with the health sector and mainstreaming biodiversity and health linkages into national strategies policies, programmes, accounts and reporting instruments.

Towards a biodiversity-inclusive One Health transition to achieve a vision of living in harmony with nature that also advances health and well-being

One health, among other holistic approaches such as Eco health or Planetary health, provides an opportunity to integrate the full range of biodiversity-health linkages. As highlighted in the 5th edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5), achieving a biodiversity-inclusive One Health transition that remains economically sustainable for populations in developing countries; fully supports human health, all living beings, ecosystems and relevant systemic drivers; and addresses the common drivers of biodiversity loss, habitats disruption, disease risk, and health impacts will enable a virtuous cycle. Coordinated, cross-sectoral approaches as One Health can help to address the common drivers of biodiversity loss, climate change, negative health outcomes and increased pandemics risk.

SSC/We support the Sustainable Development Goals - Sources of cbd.int