Side Event

Tackling common drivers of disease and biodiversity loss: a One Health approach

Organizer
EcoHealth Alliance, DIVERSITAS, DIVERSITAS-FUTURE EARTH ecoHEALTH, IUCN SSC Wildlife Health Specialist Group, UNU, TRAFFIC, SCBD and WHO

Date and Time
7 October 2014 18:15 - 19:45

Meeting
Twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity

Human disease and biodiversity loss share common drivers, providing opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration for co-benefits for health and biodiversity. For example, the overexploitation of wild fauna and flora places pressure on wild populations and threatens the health-supporting ecosystem services they provide, as well as enabling pathogen transmission and spread across species. Infectious diseases present a major direct threat to human health, with over one billion human cases globally each year, and also are increasingly recognized as a threat to other species (including but not limited to plants and terrestrial and marine animals). This has major implications for ecosystems as a whole, and can threaten food security and the provision of several ecosystem services. A “One Health” approach that considers the connections between humans, animals and environment allows for a more integrated and proactive mechanism for tackling shared health and biodiversity concerns. The event is intended as a presentation and discussion forum to complement the CBD-WHO State of Knowledge Review on Biodiversity and Health which advance draft is being launched at COP 12, and to engage participants in relevant discussion under COP 12 agenda item 16, on biodiversity and health.