The Hobart Declaration on EcoHealth: Ecological restoration that supports human health

The world is witnessing global environmental degradation, displacement and undermining of Indigenous communities, accelerating climate change, and rising public health costs. Environmental degradation and public health are intrinsically linked, and need to be tackled together. Mistreatment of our environment is closely bound with a drastic rise in the allergies, immune dysfunction, infectious disease, and mental health disorders so pervasive in modern society, causing a loss of livelihood and human wellbeing across the globe and straining public health systems. The EcoHealth Network (EHN) is a global action initiative working at the interface of ecological restoration and human health (www.ecohealthglobal.org). The Four Islands EcoHealth program has been established to work across the North and South Islands of Aotearoa/New Zealand, Tasmania, and the Australian mainland. While there are of course many other, smaller islands in Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand territories, the Four Islands represent those where EHN projects and partners currently operate.