[afro-nets] Human Health under Threat from Ecosystem Degradation

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Human Health under Threat from Ecosystem Degradation
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Download report as Adobe PDF file (64 pp. 2.26 MB):
http://www.who.int/entity/globalchange/ecosystems/ecosys.pdf

*Threats particularly acute in poorer countries

Bangkok/Geneva -- The World Health Organization (WHO) is pub-
lishing a report "Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Health Syn-
thesis", which represents an attempt to describe the complex
links between the preservation of healthy and biodiverse natural
ecosystems and human health.

"Over the past 50 years, humans have changed natural ecosystems
more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period in
human history," said Dr LEE Jong-wook, Director-General of the
World Health Organization. "This transformation of the planet
has contributed to substantial net gains in health, well-being
and economic development. But not all regions and groups of peo-
ple have benefited equally from this process."

Approximately 60% of the benefits that the global ecosystem pro-
vides to support life on Earth (such as fresh water, clean air
and a relatively stable climate) are being degraded or used un-
sustainably. In the report, scientists warn that harmful conse-
quences of this degradation to human health are already being
felt and could grow significantly worse over the next 50 years.

"The benefits should be acknowledged," said Dr Carlos Corvalan,
WHO's lead expert on the report. "But these benefits are not en-
joyed equally. And the risks we face now from ecosystem degrada-
tion, particularly among poor populations directly dependent on
natural ecosystems for many basic needs, has to be addressed."

Ecosystem services are absolutely vital to preventing disease
and sustaining good health, the Health Synthesis report under-
lines. Many important human diseases have originated in animals,
and so changes in the habitats of animal populations that are
disease vectors or reservoirs, may affect human health, some-
times positively and sometimes negatively. For example, the Ni-
pah virus is believed to have emerged after forest clearance
fires in Indonesia drove carrier bats to neighbouring Malaysia,
where the virus infected intensively-farmed pigs, and then
crossed to humans.

Intensive livestock production, while providing benefits to
health in terms of improved nutrition, has also created environ-
ments favorable to the emergence of diseases, the report notes.
Increased human contact with wild species and "bush meat" as a
result of encroachment in forests and changes in diet also cre-
ate opportunities for disease transmission.

Trends ranging from forest clearance to climate-induced habitat
changes also appear to have impacted certain populations of mos-
quitoes, ticks and midges, altering transmission patterns for
diseases like malaria and Lyme disease.

Pressures on ecosystems could have unpredictable and potentially
severe future impacts on health, the report states. Regions fac-
ing the greatest present-day risks, meanwhile, include sub-
Saharan Africa, Central Asia, parts of Latin America, and cer-
tain areas in South and Southeast Asia. Some of the most serious
problems include:

* Nutrition: Degradation of fisheries and agro-ecosystems are
factors in the malnutrition of some 800 million people around
the world. At least an additional billion people experience
chronic micronutrient deficiency. * Safe Drinking-Water: Water-
associated infectious diseases claim 3.2 million lives, approxi-
mately 6% of all deaths globally. Over one billion people lack
access to safe water supplies, while 2.6 billion lack adequate
sanitation, and related problems of water scarcity are increas-
ing, partly due to ecosystem depletion and contamination.
* Solid Fuel Dependency: About 3% of the global burden of disease
has been attributed to indoor air pollution, a major cause of
respiratory diseases. Most of the world's population uses solid
fuels to cook and heat, a factor in deforestation.

  "Human health is strongly linked to the health of ecosystems,
which meet many of our most critical needs," said Maria Neira,
Director of WHO's Department for the Protection of the Human En-
vironment. "We in the health sector need to take heed of this in
our own planning, and together with other sectors, ensure that
we obtain the greatest benefit from ecosystems for good health
now and in the future."

The Health Synthesis Report is WHO's contribution to the broader
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four-year series of studies
and reports, involving over 1300 scientists, considering impacts
on human well-being, past, present and future.