“Small Bite, Big Threat”
As we celebrate the 2014 World Health
Day, the relationship between human health and biodiversity conservation should
not escape our range of concerns. Biodiversity can be seen as the foundation
for human health, as it underpins the functioning of the ecosystems upon which
we depend for many aspects of our health. The Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) is pleased that the theme of this year’s World
Health Day, the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases, casts
additional light on the significance of biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem
services to human health. Science continues to enhance our understanding of the
vital role biodiversity, and biodiversity loss, plays in the regulation and
prevention of vector-borne diseases.
It is increasingly recognized that the
proportion of the global infectious disease burden caused by vector-borne diseases
is closely tied to the social, demographic and environmental changes of the
past half century. The remarkable growth in human population and economic
activity has been accompanied by the transformation of once natural landscapes
into intensive agricultural zones and urban and peri-urban habitats. While
increased travel, trade and migration contribute to the spread of infectious
disease, biodiversity loss, including habitat alteration and reductions in
natural genetic diversity, also increases our vulnerability to environmental
disturbances.
For example, along with inadequate
irrigation and water systems and unsanitary living conditions, deforestation
and biodiversity loss have been found to contribute to some of the most common
vector-borne diseases, including dengue, malaria and leishmaniasis. In fact, the
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that dengue is presently the “most
important mosquito-borne viral disease with epidemic potential in the world”,
with a 30-fold increase in cases during the past 50 years. Dengue and many
other insect vector-borne pathogens often emerge from the tropics, where there
has been substantial disturbance of
biodiverse rain forests, woodland savannas and riverine forest ecosystems.
Similarly, cholera and other water-borne diseases often thrive in degraded
coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Biodiversity loss is a part of the
epidemiological puzzle that confronts our efforts to stem the tide of
infectious disease.
It follows that collaborative efforts between
branches of modern science, including epidemiology, medicine, ecology and
biology, are essential if we wish to achieve a better understanding of the relationship
between infectious disease, wildlife and biodiversity, and to develop
long-term, sustainable policies to reduce related threats to human life and
community development. We must ensure, however, that solutions do not compound
the problem. Potentially valuable strategies for vector-borne disease control, such as integrated
vector-management, recognize the value of multi-sectoral approaches and reinforce
linkages between health and the environment, optimizing benefits to both. Such
strategies are designed to maximize disease control in a cost-effective manner,
while minimizing both negative impacts on ecosystems and adverse side-effects
on public health from the excessive use of chemicals in vector control.
The CBD Secretariat is committed to
contribute to the advancement of science and policy development addressing the
health-biodiversity nexus, including the complex links between conservation and
infectious disease prevention and control. We are currently pursuing
unprecedented levels of collaboration with the WHO and have jointly held
regional workshops to further mainstream biodiversity and public health
concerns in national and regional policy agendas. This is an innovative aspect
of the CBD’s 2011-2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, and it will doubtlessly
be part of our contribution to the pursuit of the emerging post-2015
development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.
It is estimated that more than half of
the global population is at risk from vector-borne disease; climate change and habitat
alteration may continue to increase the range of these threats to human health.
It is, therefore, essential that we build a more sustainable relationship
between human communities and the biodiversity that supports them. World Health
Day 2014 is an important step along the path towards increased public
awareness, scientific investigation and policy development.
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