Biodiversity Conservation and Human Health

The connections between biodiversity and human health have become a focus of recent attention and research as anthropogenic causes have led to an unprecedented loss of global biodiversity. Using the World Health Organization's Ecosystems program, this module reviews biodiversity-human health linkages, both direct (e.g., food) and indirect (e.g., waste removal), as well as the potential conflicts of interest between biodiversity conservation and human health (e.g., reduction in disease vectors from forest clear-cutting). These linkages are not clear-cut and often leave much to consider in planning conservation programs.