‘The world is facing a serious threat of biodiversity loss, which will directly affect human health and survival.”
This was the warning given by Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, international biodiversity expert and executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), as she announces the holding of a workshop that will address interlinkages between human health and biodiversity in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
The three-day workshop starting November 5 will convene experts from the Ministries of Environment and Health in the Asean member-states to discuss national experiences and best practices on mainstreaming biodiversity and health, and incorporating biodiversity considerations in national and regional health programs.
Hosting the event are the Philippines’s Departments of Health, and of Environment and Natural Resources, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the United Nations University’s Institute for International Global Health.
Lim said the workshop is part of a series of Asean advocacy on mainstreaming biodiversity—the integration of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in development sectors such as health, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, science, technology and education.
The advocacy also highlights the importance of biodiversity in sustainable development, poverty reduction, climate-change adaptation and mitigation, business, trade and international cooperation. Lim explained that biodiversity loss is a crosscutting environmental threat that will affect the health sector, as the natural ingredients of medicines come from plants and animals.
“Losing our biodiversity means losing the source of raw materials for our medicines. It is important that government agencies and pharmaceutical companies integrate biodiversity conservation in their policies, decisions and programs. This is one of the many reasons why mainstreaming biodiversity in the health sector is important,” Lim emphasized.
During the workshop, health and environment experts will discuss biodiversity and health as they relate to food and water; diseases and traditional and modern medicine; physical, mental and cultural well-being; and adaptation to climate change.
The workshop is expected to identify gaps in integrating biodiversity conservation and health programs in the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans of the Asean member-states; promote transboundary and regional cooperation; and align national health plans with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and relevant decisions of the Conference of Parties to the CBD.
Human health ultimately depends on ecosystems services that are made possible by biodiversity and its products. Biodiversity provides humans with food and water—and materials for shelter, clothing and medicine—among other basic needs for survival. Forests indirectly contribute to human health and safety by regulating climate and disease, purifying air and water, and preventing soil erosion.
The ACB is a center of excellence established by the Asean member states in 2005 to facilitate regional cooperation leading to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, for the benefit of the Asean people. ACB promotes the mainstreaming of biodiversity into development sectors.