Biodiversity and human health linkages: concepts, determinants, drivers of change and approaches to integration

Biodiversity and human health are linked in many ways, and a broad scope is taken in this State of Knowledge Review. We look at “biodiversity” in a broad sense, including not only species richness and the genetic diversity within species (“biodiversity, narrow sense”) but also the components of biodiversity (species and genotypes), and habitats and ecosystems. Thus, the distribution and abundance of species, and the extent of natural habitats, are relevant, in addition to diversity per se. Moreover, we consider not only the direct effects of biodiversity or its components on human health, but also the (indirect) effects that are due to biodiversity’s role in supporting ecosystem processes and functioning. Further, we examine drivers of change that are common to both biodiversity loss (or change) and health status. Finally, we are also concerned with the impacts of the interventions made in the health sector on biodiversity and vice versa. Therefore, this State of Knowledge Review casts a broader net than other recent reviews.