Biodiversity and Heath

• Biological diversity (biodiversity)


  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
• Types of biodiversity

  • Genetic diversity
  • Species diversity
  • Ecosystem diversity
• Genetic diversity


  Each member of any animal or plant species differs widely from other individuals in its genetic makeup
• Species diversity


  The number of species of plants and animals that are present in a region constitutes its species diversity
• Direct drivers of biodiversity loss include land-use change, habitat loss, overexploitation, pollution and climate change
• Many of these drivers affect human health directly and through their impacts on biodiversity
• The rate of extinction has been estimated at one species per million species each year, so that for 15 million species, 15 extinctions would occur each year
• Hotspots


  • It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics — which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable
  • It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation. In other words, it must be threatened
• Biodiversity and its changes (losses and gains) are, to a great extent, the result of anthropogenic influences
• Environmental determinants of health (such as air quality, food security, water security,etc.)

  - are interrelated and adversely affected by the reduced ability of degraded ecosystems and biota to adapt to the impacts of climate change, air pollution, natural disasters or water scarcity
• Detrimental changes to biodiversity and the resulting risks and burden of human health problems are inequitably distributed in specific social–ecological settings
• Impaired water quality results in significant social and economic costs, and ecosystem degradation is a major cause of decline in water quality
• The input of nutrients most commonly associated with eutrophication – phosphorus (e.g. in detergents) and nitrogen (e.g. agricultural runoff) into lakes, reservoirs, rivers and coastal marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, have been widely recognized as a major threat to both water ecosystems and human health
• Bioindicators can be useful for monitoring air quality and indicating environmental health
• Bioindicators, especially lichens and bryophytes, are widely used for monitoring air quality
• The increase in food production achieved over the past decades has been accompanied by significant losses in agricultural biodiversity
• Nutritional composition between foods and among varieties of the same food can differ dramatically, affecting micronutrient availability in the diet
• The nutrition transition is the process by which development, globalization, poverty and subsequent changes in lifestyle have led to excessive dietary energy intakes, poor-quality diets and low physical activity
• Sustainable Diets are those diets with low environmental impacts, which contribute to food and nutrition security and to a healthy life for present and future generations
• Human-caused global changes, such as deforestation, extractive industries including logging and mining and urban development, are driving infectious disease emergence and spread
• Deforestation has led to a proliferation of Anopheles darlingi, a mosquito species that is highly effective at transmitting malaria. It has replaced some twenty other less effective Anopheles species that were present before the forests were cut down
• Hantavirus prevalence is thought to increase when mammal diversity decreases
• Prevalence of Bartonella increases when large wildlife are removed; and habitat fragmentation increases risk of Lyme disease
• Hygiene hypothesis being replaced by Biodiversity hypothesis (von Hertzen et al.) or the Old Friends mechanism (Rook et al.)
• Changing patterns of microbial exposure, in concert with changing diets, are contributing to diminished immunoregulation, and to increased incidences of immunoregulatory disorders
• The Old infections are rapidly and progressively eliminated by modern medicine and lifestyles
• The biodiversity of the microbiotas is restricted by the modern lifestyle
• Reduced gut microbial biodiversity is often found to associate with poor control of inflammation
• Gut microbiota of limited diversity is also characteristic of human inflammation-associated conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease
• Medicinal plants are supplied through collection from wild populations and cultivation
• Biomedical research relies on plants, animals and microbes for drug discovery and development
• Traditional medicines are estimated to be used by 60% of the world's population and in some countries are extensively incorporated into the public health system
• Contact with nature may not only be associated with positive mental health benefits, but can also promote physical activity and contribute to overall well-being
• Contribution of biodiversity to the provision and sustenance of a range of cultural ecosystem services such as spiritual values and social relations
• Green spaces in urban settings are linked to stress reduction, reduction in crime and violence and a range of other health benefits
• Climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected
• Direct impact of climate change - Increase in the number of heat waves, droughts, foods, cyclones and wildfires
• Indirect impact of climate change - broad and variable in their etiology, such as change in infectious disease vector distribution and air pollution interacting with heat waves
• Tertiary effects of climate change - health impacts of large-scale famine, forced migration and human conflict, which result from the geophysical and ecological consequences of climate change
• Why conserve biodiversity?

  • Consumptive use value
  • Productive use value
  • Social value
  • Moral and ethical value
  • Aesthetic value
  • Option value