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World Health Day

7 April 2024, Geneva, Switzerland

Statement by David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the World Health Day 7 April 2024

Statement by David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the World Health Day 7 April 2024

Invitation to review the updated version of the draft global action plan to mainstream biodiversity and health linkages

Reference: SCBD/SSSF/JL/SK/MAQ/VA/91436 (2024-002)
To: CBD focal points, SBSTTA focal points, Cartagena Protocol focal points, ABS focal points, indigenous peoples and local communities, and relevant organizations

World Food Safety Day

7 June 2023, Rome, Italy

World Health Day

7 April 2023, Geneva, Switzerland

Statement by David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the World Health Day, 7 April 2023

Statement by David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the World Health Day, 7 April 2023

International Day of Forests: "Forests and health"

21 March 2023, Rome, Italy

Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: First external review of the thematic assessment of the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health (nexus assessment)

Reference: SCBD/IMS/NP/JC/KM/90739 (2023-002)
To: CBD National Focal Points, ABS National Focal Points, Cartagena Protocol Focal Points, SBSTTA Focal Points, indigenous peoples and local communities and relevant organizations

Expression of interest in becoming a Nature for Health (N4H) Country Partner

Reference: SCBD/SSSF/JL/LS/VA/90497 (2022-052)
To: CBD National Focal Points, SBSTTA National Focal Points, ABS Focal Points, Cartagena Protocol Focal Points, indigenous peoples and local communities and relevant organizations

Biodiversity called into focus

With ASEAN’s critical history and experience with pandemics, biodiversity and health have become among the key focus areas at the national and regional levels, according to Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Dr Theresa Mundita S Lim.

‘The scale is hard to grasp’: avian flu wreaks devastation on seabirds

Dozens of coastal sites in the UK closed to the public as H5N1 continues to sweep through wild bird populations across the world. Aquarter of Europe’s breeding seabirds spend spring in the UK, turning our coastline into a giant maternity unit. These noisy outcrops usually stink of bird poo. Howe ...

Urban wetlands ‘could improve wellbeing in deprived UK areas’

Creating wildlife-rich wetlands such as ponds, streams and rain gardens in deprived urban areas could help level up inequalities in wellbeing across the UK, according to a report.

The path to global health equity is through neglected tropical diseases. Here's why

Leaders of the Commonwealth, a group of 54 countries that are home to a third of the world’s population, met in Kigali, Rwanda, between 20-25 June, with the aim of strengthening international cooperation on some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity.

The impact of climate change on cardiovascular mortality

Two new University of Pennsylvania studies led by LDI Senior Fellow and Perelman School of Medicine cardiologist Sameed Khatana, MD, MPH are bringing a greater focus on the increasing health threat of extreme heat waves and the deadly connection between those weather events and cardiovascular mo ...

Britain’s largest butterfly at risk as fungal pathogens kill food source

Britain’s largest butterfly may be at risk from fungal pathogens that have caused a drastic die-back of the rare plant on which its caterpillars feed.

Geese, skuas, cranes and even foxes: avian flu takes growing toll on wildlife

One ecologist counted 160 dead wild birds while walking round a Scottish loch, and figures from other countries are just as worrying. As he walked along the shoreline of a Highland loch on a fine May evening, ecologist and wildlife photographer Peter Stronach could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Conserving Biodiversity, Preserving Mental Health

Activist Tori Tsui dismantles the euro-centricity and ableism of ‘eco-anxiety’ and outlines why mental health is planetary health.

New Zealand on verge of wiping out painful cattle disease

New Zealand is on the verge of eradicating a painful disease from its herd of 10 million cattle after a four-year campaign that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars and resulted in more than 175,000 cows being killed.

World Day for Safety and Health at Work

28 April 2022, Geneva, Switzerland

Study: Climate change is creating disease hotspots

Although COVID-19’s precise origins may always remain a mystery, the disease that has claimed more than 6 million lives, halted global economies, and caused immense suffering most likely came from a bat.

‘Potentially devastating’: Climate crisis may fuel future pandemics

There will be at least 15,000 instances of viruses leaping between species over the next 50 years, with the climate crisis helping fuel a “potentially devastating” spread of disease that will imperil animals and people and risk further pandemics, researchers have warned.

Why Doctors Are Prescribing Nature Walks

In early April 2022, about two dozen children and their families gathered beneath the redwoods in a regional park near Oakland, Calif.

Why does biodiversity matter to human health and economic well-being?

There is significant evidence to show how biodiversity positively impacts health and economic security. Conservation can no longer be put on the back burner.

Age of traditional medicine will start with establishment of WHO centre in Jamnagar, says PM Modi

That is the reason why the world is searching for new avenues of healthcare delivery, said Modi.Referring to ancient scriptures, he said Ayurveda and other Indian traditional medicine systems were not limited to only treatment, as they are considered as holistic sciences.

Plants hold key to developing future cancer treatments

Cancer care relies on complex therapies involving radioactive materials and sophisticated drugs and has come far from past remedies based on plants and herbs. However, scientists warn there is still a need to understand the botanical roots of tumour treatments – to maintain new sources of drugs ...

Bringing public health to forefront

The importance of forging robust linkages to ensure the health of people and the planet was highlighted in a recent statement by Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Dr Theresa Mundita S Lim.

World Health Day

7 April 2022, Geneva, Switzerland

Zoos hiding birds as avian flu spreads in North America

Zoos across North America are moving their birds indoors and away from people and wildlife as they try to protect them from the highly contagious and potentially deadly avian influenza.

Statement by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity on the occasion of World Health Day

Statement by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity on the occasion of World Health Day

Germany announces 50 mn euros for new nature for health fund

The German Federal Ministry for Environment and Nature Conservation, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) on Thursday jointly announced the establishment of a Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) on nature for health.

50 million Euros to seed new Nature for Health Trust Fund for Pandemic Prevention

Nairobi, 3 March 2022 – The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and onsumer Protection (BMUV), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) today jointly announced the establishment of a Mul ...

50 million Euros to seed new Nature for Health Trust Fund for Pandemic Prevention

An Ecopsychologist On How To Connect To Nature From Anywhere (Even Indoors)

I was born and raised in Suriname, the most forest-covered nation in the world, with 98% tree cover. "Nature Deficit Disorder"—a term that author Richard Louv coined to describe how being disconnected from nature can harm health—was not something I needed to worry about growing up.

How Climate Change Affects Our Brains

When I was a little girl, my favorite thing to do was to listen to my grandmother’s stories. During mealtimes, we would all sit at the dining table, and I would beg my grandmother to tell me memories from her childhood in Istanbul, Turkey, where I was born and raised.

Feeling ill? Take two hours of nature and call us in the morning

THE WORST PART about living in the largest city in the U.S. is that it often feels like there are more buildings, people, and trash piles than there are trees. But every once in a while, I make the subway journey to the beach or a big park to remind myself that I’m alive and there are green spaces.

‘I forget everything’: the benefits of nature for mental health

During Covid lockdowns, Sharon Powell felt alone. She was caring for her father, 90, who was deteriorating from Parkinson’s disease and dementia, and looking after him had become increasingly difficult.

A possible COVID-19 silver lining for great ape conservation

Respiratory illness outbreaks among wild mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park have declined since the start of COVID-19, according to a Correspondence report in the journal Nature from Gorilla Doctors and the Rwanda Development Board.

Health Canada releases assessment report on effects of climate change on health

The price of climate change is real. This crisis has already taken lives in extreme heat waves, and is increasing risks to Canadians from flooding, and from respiratory illnesses like asthma.

Canadian Doctors Can Now Prescribe ‘Spending Time in Nature’ for Patients’ Mental Health

Not all doctors recommend just bed-rest, or time-off from work, or pills. Some can even write you prescriptions to go visit parks and spend time in nature. Well, at least, doctors in Canada are doing that.

One Health approach to prevent emergence of zoonotic pathogens

In light of the continuing threats to public health posed by the emergence of diseases and new COVID-19 variants, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are looking to strengthen capacities in mainstreaming biodiversity into health frameworks and systems.

When nature nurtures

I spent this break wandering through the Shenandoah National Park, irresponsibly lost at points. With root systems and fungi speaking deep under the earth and leafless canopies suspended overhead, the woods enveloped me on all sides. I felt more at peace than I had in months. In nature, I feel a ...

‘It’s mind-boggling’: the hidden cost of our obsession with fish oil pills

Scanning the shelves and internet for fish oil is a dizzying task. There are dozens of brands available and, although the typical consideration for the popular supplement is that quality matters most, it is not the only factor.

Decline of biodiversity, health of Indigenous peoples interconnected

When Danika Littlechild was growing up in Maskwacis, Alta., her uncle would pick her up after school and walk her home through the bush to her kôhkom’s (grandmother’s) house. He would show her different plants and fungi along the way, teaching her their names and telling stories about when to ha ...

Why protecting the planet is essential to preventing future pandemics

Almost two years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, scientific breakthroughs powered by international collaboration have helped us create vaccines and other treatments that can help tackle the health crisis. But our broken relationship with the natural world continues to make us vulnerabl ...

Covid: Viral photo highlights challenges of vaccinating Amazon

A photo of an indigenous man carrying his father on his back to take a Covid-19 vaccine in the Brazilian Amazon has gone viral, and became a symbol of the complicated vaccination logistics in one of the world's most remote areas.

COVID fallout hit farmers hard, and they need better mental health support

A farmer's lot is not an easy one. A difficult and demanding way of life, farming involves a huge range of challenges and stresses—among them isolation, climate change, and disease outbreaks in crops and livestock.

Tourist selfies risk passing deadly viruses onto critically endangered orangutans

COVID-19 not only affects humans; our closest relatives, the great apes, are also at risk. A team of experts, including Oxford Brookes University researchers say that jungle trekkers could be risking the lives of Critically Endangered species of orangutans, by passing on human viruses like COVID-19.