IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

The ways that species interact with each other and with the inorganic parts of their environment provide vital life support for all living things. We cannot live without these services, which purify air and fresh water from pollutants, maintain soil fertility, pollinate plants, and break down wastes, among many others. There is a need for improved coordination among organizations working on conservation and health issues in order to achieve the health related goals of the MDGs. Areas of overlapping health and environment priorities include:

Unsafe water and sanitation kill 1.7 million people every year. According to WHO, about 6% of the world’s burden of disease is water related. One third of the world’s population today lives in countries already experiencing moderate to high water stress. Wetland ecosystems perform key hydrological and biological functions that are critical to human health, like water filtration, flood control, and groundwater recharge. Wetlands improve water quality by removing organic and inorganic nutrients and toxic materials from the water that flows across them. (On the other hand, wetlands can be a habitat for disease vectors.)

Human health depends on the health of other species and on the natural functioning of healthy ecosystems. As we lose species, we lose the possibility to discover new medicine. Species use chemicals as protection, and these chemicals are the basis of medicine. Species also provide invaluable medical research models. Besides, humans cannot live without ecosystem services, which purify air and fresh water from pollutants, maintain soil fertility, pollinate plants, and break down wastes. One important ecosystem service is the holding of plant and animal diseases and pests in check by an array of predator-prey, and host-parasite relationships.

Veun Sean village in Thala Borivat district in Cambodia, twenty kilometers from the border with Lao PDR, has 150 inhabitants. There are 12,000 people living in the Stung Treng wetland – a protected area. Households in the village of Veun Sean of Cambodia depend on the Stung Treng wetland for their fish, water supply and transport, a participatory assessment shows.

The total benefits of the wetland amount to US$ 3,200 per household per year. Poorer households are most dependent on wetland resources for providing food security and income. They make on average 77% of their income out of fisheries, compared to 56% for the less poor households. The poorer households are also more vulnerable to losses in fisheries and wetland resources, particularly because they are less able to deal with shocks such as health problems, drought and livestock death.

The study assessed the value of the wetland in terms of fishing and other foods, washing, drinking water, transportation, construction materials, firewood, medicinal plants and flood-recession rice.

Asia - Integrated Approach in linking health/sanitation and wetland resources management in Laos and Cambodia

Southern Africa - Sustainable Management of Inland Wetlands in Southern Africa: A Livelihoods and Ecosystems Approach (planned)

West/Central Asia and North Africa – Sustainable use of indigenous medicinal and aromatic plants as an income generation resource for local communities in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and the Yemen.

Mesoamerica - Integrated Management of Watershed Associated to Hydrological Complex El Imposible-Barra de Santiago (El Salvador).