Ecosystem health and planetary well-being

African Journal of Environment and Natural Science Research , 2021

Health is the most basic human right and one of the most important indicators of sustainable development. Individuals, communities and societies depend on healthy ecosystems support to remain healthy. Well-functioning ecosystems provide goods and services essential for human health. These goods and services include nutrition and food security, clean air and fresh water, medicines, cultural and spiritual values, and contributions to local livelihoods and economic development. They can also help to limit disease and stabilize the climate. However, over the years human activities have been constantly placing pressure on earth's natural resources to meet the demands of the economies and the needs of a rapidly growing global population, which has resulted in the transformation of basic natural processes such as weather/climate, biogeochemical cycling, and more so the biological diversity in which the evolutionary changes depend. It is projected that less than 25% of Earth's surface remains free from substantial impacts of human activities and the proportion is set to fall to a mere 10% or less by 2050. Constant human activities are resulting in soil, water and air pollution, increased emissions of greenhouse gases, deforestation and land use change, expanded urban areas, introduction of non-native species, and inadequately planned development of water and land resources to meet food and energy needs. These changes are having both direct and indirect impacts on our climate, ecosystems and biological diversity and human health. Thus, the integrated course of action that involves both individual and the government efforts must be instituted to tackle both human-induced drivers of biodiversity loss, disease emergence and the loss of ecosystem services that support health and general human well-being.

Understanding and Solving Environmental Problems in the 21st Century, 2002

The links between human health and ecosystem health are clear for many people but inaction to bring a balance between the two is still omnipresent among decisionmakers and certain parts of our societies. There is a need for concerted efforts to first educate and inform all people in the world about these links and the fragility of the ecosystems in which we live. While some ecosystems might be able to restore their health without human interventions, it is clear that others may need our help. There are several potential solutions, the challenge being to engage the world in the implementation of these actions. This chapter explores some of these solutions and potential actions. These priority actions were in many cases proposed by the discussion group at the EcoSummit. There was a strong recognition of these priorities. The discussion group passed a resolution on conserving, protecting, 9 and enhancing ecosystem health and human health. The main goal of our society should be towards a healthy planet and healthy living. * We would like to dedicate this chapter to Andrew Hamilton, our working group rapporteur, who has worked on linking human health and the environment for many years. Thank you for your eloquent summary of our discussions, found in the resolution at the end of this chapter. It brought all our thoughts together in a common vision.

2012

Ecosystems and Human Health, 2010

2013

… and human well- …, 2011

EcoHealth

Environmental Ethics, 2004

On most understandings of what an ecosystem is, it is a kind of thing that can be literally, not just metaphorically, healthy or unhealthy. Health is best understood as a kind of well-being; a thing’s health is a matter of retaining those structures and functions that are good for it. While it is true both that what’s good for an ecosystem depends on how we define the system and that how we define the system depends on our interests, these facts do not force us to the conclusion that an ecosystem has no good of its own. Ecosystems and persons can have goods of their own in spite of the fact that the schemes we use to categorize them are matters that we decide upon.

Ecosystem Health, 1999

Epidemiologic concepts have important applications in the assessment of ecosystem health and ecosystem health is a critical determinant of some epidemiologic events. Thus the two are intimately interrelated and concepts from one find ready applications in the other. The temporal and spatial spread of ecological degradation across the earth's ecosystems has some of the characteristics of an epidemiologic process, with humans as the “infective” agent. Elevated disease prevalence in both plants and animals is one of the key indicators of ecosystem pathology, and conversely, pathologic ecosystems place increased risks to the health of all components, thus ecosystem health becomes a major determinant of risks to the health of component populations. These relations suggest important links between the areas of epidemiology, phytopathology, and systems ecology. Understanding these links can provide enhanced capacities for diagnosis and risk assessment in all three areas.

EcoHealth, 2004