Connecting Global Priorities Biodiversity and Human Health

the components of biodiversity (species and
genotypes), and habitats and ecosystems. Thus,
the distribution and abundance of species, and the
extent of natural habitats, are relevant, in addition
to diversity per se. Moreover, we consider not only
the direct effects of biodiversity or its components
on human health, but also the (indirect) effects
that are due to biodiversity’s role in supporting
ecosystem processes and functioning (see section
3). Further, we examine drivers of change that
are common to both biodiversity loss (or change)
and health status. Finally, we are also concerned
with the impacts of the interventions made in the
health sector on biodiversity and vice versa. Thus,
this State of Knowledge Review casts a broader
net than other recent reviews (e.g. Hough 2014).
Like Sandifer et al. (2015), we consider a broad
range of pathways through which biodiversity may
provide health and well-being benefit to people:
psychological (e.g. green spaces and iconic wildlife;
see Chapter 12), physiological (directly through
the human microbiome, and indirectly through
exercise in green spaces, see Chapters 8 and 12),
regulation of the transmission and prevalence
of some infectious diseases (see Chapter 7),
provision of food and good nutrition (Chapters
5 and 6), clean air and water (Chapters 3 and 4),
the provision of traditional and modern medicines
(Chapters 9 and 11) and the impact of some
pharmaceuticals on the environment (Chapter 11).
Box 1 and Figure 1 provide a typology of
biodiversity–health interactions.
The interactions between biodiversity and
health are manifested at multiple scales from
individuals, through communities and landscapes
to a planetary scale (Figure 1). At the scale of the
individual person, the human microbiota – the
commensal microbial communities present in
our gut, in our respiratory, oropharyngeal and
urogenital tracts and on our skin – contribute to
our nutrition, help regulate our immune system,
and prevent infection. Interactions among family
members and the wider environment may be
important in the maintenance and turnover of
this diversity. At the community level (such as
farms), many aspects of biodiversity – among
crops and livestock, associated pollinators and
pest control organisms and in soils – support
agricultural production. Ecosystem services in the
wider landscape of biodiversity underpin a host
of ecosystem services, including water provision
and erosion control. The functioning and integrity
of the biosphere at a planetary scale (i.e. global
level) is also understood to depend on biodiversity.
2. EQUITY AND SOCIAL
DIMENSIONS OF HEALTH AND
BIODIVERSITY
Human population health is determined, to a large
extent, by the social, economic and environmental
determinants of health (United Nations Task
Team on Social Dimensions of Climate Change
2011; WHO 2008). The social, economic and
behavioural aspects of the human condition
interact with the environment, including critical
elements of biodiversity, biodiversity losses and
gains, and ecosystem services.
Biodiversity and its changes (losses and gains)
are, to a great extent, the result of anthropogenic
influences (Mora and Zapata 2013). The social
dimensions of biodiversity are present both in
relation to these drivers of change and in relation
to how the impacts of biodiversity change are
mediated among groups of differing socioeconomic
status. Biodiversity loss is impacted by
anthropogenic drivers, such as overexploitation of
natural resources, human-induced climate change
and habitat loss. Large-scale social and economic
processes and systems affect biodiversity, and the
social, economic and environmental dimensions of
ecological sustainability at risk (UNESCO 2013).
Environmental determinants of health (such as air
quality, food security, water security, freedom from
disease, 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. Many
of the dynamics between biodiversity and human
health are in the area of infectious, vector-borne
diseases. In some cases, biodiversity loss (such as
that associated with deforestation) may enhance
the risk of some diseases such as malaria (Chaves
30 Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health