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UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/16

Reports on Collaborative Work on Biodiversity and Agriculture, Forests, and Biodiversity and Health

UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/INF/34

Biodiversity and Health: Further Information on the Work in Response to Decision X/20, Paragraph 17

"Voluntary Commitments for Mainstreaming Biodiversity in the sectors of Energy and Mining, Infrastructure, Manufacturing and Processing, and Health" - Preparing for potential pledges of action by countries and partners to be announced at the UN Biodiversity Conference 2018, Sharm el-Sheikh

Reference: SCBD/MCO/AF/CE/87292 (2018-035)
To: CBD National Focal Points

'A world of sound opens up': how 10 minutes in nature reaps rewards

Sir David Attenborough’s latest advice for restoring our damaged relationship with nature is reassuringly straightforward. “One of the simplest things that you should do if you get the chance, when you get the chance, is just naturally to stop,” he told the Call of the Wild podcast.

'Like bees, wasps 'valuable' for ecosystems, human health

Wasps deserve to be just as highly valued as other insects, like bees, due to their roles as predators, pollinators, and more, according to a new review paper led by UCL and University of East Anglia researchers.

'Sushi parasites' have increased 283-fold in past 40 years

The next time you eat sashimi, nigiri or other forms of raw fish, consider doing a quick check for worms. A new study led by the University of Washington finds dramatic increases in the abundance of a worm that can be transmitted to humans who eat raw or undercooked seafood

'We might have a Covid-21 or Covid-22 coming our way'

We need a broader approach to health, says conservationist Cristián Samper. Our treatment of nature increases the risk of further pandemics

10th World Wilderness Congress (WILD10)

4 - 10 October 2013, Salamanca, Spain

15th Annual BIOECON Conference Conservation and Development: Exploring Conflicts and Challenges

18 - 20 September 2013, Cambridge, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

3 ways nature in the city can do you good, even in self-isolation

Spending time at the beach or taking a walk in the park can help us recover from the mental and physical impacts of life’s stresses. But physical distancing measures to contain COVID-19 have included closing beaches, playgrounds and parks, adding to the challenges to our mental health. When we s ...

32nd Session Asia and Pacific Plant Protection Commission (APPPC) - FAO

6 - 10 September 2021, TBD

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

5th Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Health & Enivonrment and Community of Practice (CoP) Workshop

23 - 25 July 2013, Washington, United States of America

A Better Understanding of "Wet Markets" is Key to Safeguarding Human Health, Biodiversity (IMAGE)

Great uncertainty surrounds the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Early on, some suggested a link between COVID-19 and a seafood market in Wuhan, China. Other theories are now circulating, though the origins of the virus are still unknown.

A GDP for nature: How measuring the health of the natural world might prevent the next pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us how vulnerable we are to deadly infectious diseases. How we got here has been decades in the making, with plenty of warning signs along the way, from SARS to MERS to Ebola to Zika.

A diet of high-iron beans improves health of anemic women in Rwanda

Anemia is a global health problem common in low-income countries. Severe cases can lead to fatigue, heart problems, and complications in pregnancy. When widespread, anemia can also weigh on national economies.

A diversity of wildlife is good for our health

A growing body of evidence suggests that biodiversity loss increases our exposure to both new and established zoonotic pathogens. Restoring and protecting nature is essential to preventing future pandemics.

A less meaty Year of the Pig?

A few days before the Chinese New Year, staff at a popular Sichuanese restaurant in Beijing’s Dongcheng district were busy serving customers and taking reservations for New Year’s Eve. Meat accounted for at least 65 per cent of the dishes on the New Year menu, typical of the several restaurants ...

A one-health approach to prevent COVID-21, COVID-22 and other future pandemics

While still in the grips of a global pandemic, it has become painfully apparent that addressing the complex interactions of human, animal, and environmental health needs multilateral and national adoption of a fully integrated One Health approach, write Cristián Samper and Niels Annen.

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.

A study reveals the presence of murine coronavirus in Canary Islands mice population

A study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science reveals the presence of murine coronavirus—the murine hepatitis virus or M-CoV—in mice of the Canary archipelago (Spain) that could have reached the islands by maritime transport from the European continent. This is the first ecoepidemiologica ...

ASEAN highlights long-term health measures amid COVID-19 pandemic

As parts of the world come to a standstill to stop the spread of the new Coronavirus disease or COVID-19, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) underscores the importance of taking a long-term view of the situation and integrating biodiversity into the design and implementation of health progr ...

Act responsibly on climate emergency to protect public health, editors urge leaders

The editors of over 200 medical journals have published a joint statement where they have called upon global leaders to take action on the climate emergency and protect public health.

Adoption of a robust approach to minimize disease transmission between humans and wild animals

The threat of disease transmission from conservationists moving wild animals between habitats or back into the wild needs to be urgently assessed to minimize risk. Experts at the University of Birmingham are calling on local and national health authorities and wildlife managers to adopt a robust ...

Advancing One Health: Protecting People, Gorillas, and the Land on which They Live

In 2003, a scabies skin disease outbreak affecting mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was traced to people living around the national park—people with limited access to basic health and social services. To protect the people and wildlife of this special park, we launched Cons ...

Africa: Six Nature Facts Related to Coronaviruses

Did you know that around 60 per cent of all infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, as are 75 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases, in other words they come to us via animals?

African swine fever decimates Philippine pig stocks

African swine fever (ASF) sweeping through the Philippines has wiped out over a third of the country's pig stocks, threatening food security in a country already reeling from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

Air pollution linked to far higher Covid-19 death rates, study finds

Air pollution is linked to significantly higher rates of death in people with Covid-19, according to analysis.The work shows that even a tiny, single-unit increase in particle pollution levels in the years before the pandemic is associated with a 15% increase in the death rate.

Allergy Season Is Getting Worse, Thanks To Climate Change

Allergy sufferers are having a rough time of it this spring. If you're among them, and if you think it's getting worse, you're right–and climate change is at least partly to blame.

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.

Ancient Greek Wisdom for a Healthy Gut and Immune System

The ancient Greek Father of Medicine, Hippocrates penned that “all diseases begin in the gut” and that for true healing and optimum health that we need to exercise, “let medicine be thy food and food thy medicine” and the “natural forces within us are the true healers of disease”.

And Breathe… The Value Of The Natural World

If you consult your doctor, you would probably not expect them to advise you to take a walk in the park. But the value of immersing yourself in the natural world has been recognised by a recent report from Griffith University. It is possible that park visits will become a routine part of prescri ...

Annual Meeting of the Consultative Group for the North American Pollutant Release and Transfer Register

20 - 21 October 2004, Montreal, Canada

Anthropogenesis and COVID-19

The emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS–COV-2) virus in Wuhan, China, in 2019 and the subsequent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been linked to the anthropogenic biodiversity crisis and climate change.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is spreading from people to chimpanzees

Nearly half of fecal samples from wild chimpanzees contain bacteria that is resistant to a major class of antibiotics people commonly use in the vicinity of Gombe National Park in Tanzania, according to new research

Asean could be hot spot for next pandemic–ACB head

WITH 346 bat species, three species of pangolins, and over 2,000 migratory avian species, Southeast Asia could be a hot spot for the next pandemic, the Director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) warned.

Bee sting twice as likely to land Australians in hospital than encounter with venomous wildlife

Australia is home to the 11 most venomous snakes in the world, the deadliest spider in the world, and some of the most venomous marine life. And yet according to a study released on Wednesday, Australians are twice as likely end up in hospital because of a bee or wasp sting than an encounter wit ...

Being surrounded by green space in childhood may improve mental health of adults

Children who grow up with greener surroundings have up to 55% less risk of developing various mental disorders later in life. This is shown by a new study from Aarhus University, Denmark, emphasizing the need for designing green and healthy cities for the future.

Better sewage treatment critical for human health and ecosystems

World Health Day on 7 April is a reminder that effective wastewater management and sanitation systems are vital for human health. The volume of sewage in the world is set to rise in line with population growth. Furthermore, the growth in global wealth means our wastewater, including sewage, cont ...

Biodiversity Conservation can Improve Human Health in World’s Growing Cities, says UN assessment

Hyderabad (India), 15 October 2012 – Global urbanization will have significant implications for biodiversity and ecosystems if current trends continue, with knock-on effects for human health and development, according to a new assessment by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity ( ...

Biodiversity and Health: Linkages and Benefits

Biodiversity and health have inextricable links, with biodiversity offering critical health-supporting ecosystem services, and public health arguments increasingly acknowledged as an opportunity for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Emerging infectious diseases presents an ex ...

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.

Biodiversity is more than just the forests

TOO often when we talk about biodiversity, it evokes a notion of forest destruction or species extinction. To many, it is just about the environment. Little do we realise, however, that in fact biodiversity is the foundation for human health.

Biodiversity is our Life Insurance

Since its early days, Slow Food has put the defense of biodiversity at the heart of its strategies. This precious natural resource is under threat worldwide, including in Europe. But what is biodiversity? What does it have to do with our food and health? And what is the European Union doing to r ...

Biodiversity is positively related to mental health

The higher the number of plant and bird species in a region, the healthier the people who live there. This was found by a new study published in Landscape and Urban Planning and led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Resear ...

Biodiversity may benefit mental health by affecting gut bacteria

New research in mice suggests that exposure to a biodiverse soil may improve mental health by raising levels of a bacterium with anxiety-relieving effects.

Biodiversity or Bust

Diseases transmitted from animals have decimated human populations at least since the bubonic plague appeared in Biblical times. Centuries later, preserving healthy ecosystems is the most effective – and the most cost-effective – way to prevent future outbreaks that endanger our lives and threat ...

Biodiversity protects bee communities from disease

A new analysis of thousands of native and nonnative Michigan bees shows that the most diverse bee communities have the lowest levels of three common viral pathogens.