Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health

Health “is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. This is the definition of the World Health Organization. Health status has important social, economic, behavioural and environmental determinants and wide-ranging impacts. Typically, health has been viewed largely in a human-only context. However, there is increasing recognition of the broader health concept that encompasses other species, our ecosystems and the integral ecological underpinnings of many drivers or protectors of health risks. Biological diversity (biodiversity) is “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” This definition of the Convention on Biological Diversity (Article 2) reflects different levels of biodiversity (including genetic diversity, species and ecosystems) and the complexities of biotic and abiotic interactions. The attributes and interactions of biotic and abiotic components determine ecosystem processes and their properties. The effective management of ecosystems as part of comprehensive public health measures requires that these various complex linkages and interactions be identified and understood.