Connecting Global Priorities Biodiversity and Human Health

unwanted pregnancies, and the implementation
of family planning policies (Ezeh et al. 2012).
3. Consumption – the demand for
food and energy
Global demand for food, energy, water, shelter
and healthcare has risen dramatically over the
past 100 years, and this trend is likely to continue,
leading to a new set of interrelated conservation,
public health and development challenges
(Eg.: Tillman and Clark 2014; Neff et al. 2011;
Costello et al. 2009). The resulting pressures on
natural ecosystems, including biodiversity loss,
may not only lead to increased competition for
food, water, energy and land, affect economies,
and bring us closer to “tipping points” (Leadley et
al 2010, 2014; See also Chapter 2); they will also
have major implications for global public health,
with disproportionate impacts on the poor and
vulnerable.
While population growth contributes to this
increased demand, its impact is dwarfed by the
effects of rising consumption by more prosperous
members of the global community. The “ecological
footprint” provides an estimate of the per capita
impact of consumption on biodiversity and
ecological systems. It is measured in “global
hectares”, with the earth able to support the
current population with just under two global
hectares per person. Most countries in Africa
have per capita footprints well within this value,
while the per capita footprint in Western Europe is
about and in North America about (Wackernagel,
1994; Global Footprint Network, 2015).
With respect to greenhouse gas emissions,
Satterthwaite (2009) notes that significant
proportion of the world’s urban (and rural)
populations have consumption levels that are
so low that they contribute little or nothing to
such emissions. He concludes: “if the lifetime
contribution to GHG emissions of a person added
to the world’s population varies by a factor of more
than 1,000 depending on the circumstances into
which they are born and their life choices, it is
misleading to see population growth as the driver
of climate change”.
According to a recent study 1.3 billion people
worldwide do not have access to an electric grid
(IEA 2013), including over three quarters of the
population (or 600 million people) in Africa alone
(IEA 2011). This leads to an estimated 600 000
preventable yearly deaths from indoor fumes
(UNEP 2015a). According to recent UN estimates,
the burning of fossil fuels for lighting accounts for
90 million tonnes of CO2 annually (UNEP 2015b),
and an additional 270,000 tons of black carbon
emitted as a result of kerosene lamps for lighting
(UNEP 2015a). Without adequate measures, the
number of people without access to an electric
grid in Africa is projected to increase to 700 000
by 2030, further extenuating pressures of climate
change on ecosystems and public health (UNEP
2015a). Thus efforts to reduce the use of emissions
from fossil fuels must be accompanied with efforts
to provide modern energy for all.
A well-nourished global population expected
to exceed 9 billion by 2050 would require an
estimated increase in food production ranging
between 70% and 100%, with a corresponding
rise in demand for processed foods, meat, dairy
and fish as populations become more urbanized
(Godfray et al. 2010; Royal Society of London
2009). Tilman and Clark (2014) note that dietary
trends towards diets higher in refined sugars,
refined fats, oils and meats, could lead to land
clearing for agriculture and an 80% increase in
associated greenhouse gas emissions. Such dietary
trends would also increase the burden of disease
from type II diabetes, coronary heart diseases
and other chronic non-communicable diseases.
However, as noted in Chapter 6, alternative diets
(such as the Mediterranean diet), if widely adopted,
would greatly reduce impacts on biodiversity and
climate change and also improve health outcomes.
Water resources are projected to come
under increased pressure, both as a result of
increased pollution and demand. In developed
and developing countries alike, water stress
hinders economic growth and threatens food
production systems and food security (Bogardi
et al. 2012; Viala 2008; Brown 2004). As the
chapter on freshwater indicates, this resource
is consumptively used for agriculture, as well as
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