Key facts
- Nature and ecosystems provide essential products, such as water, energy, food and medicine, and essential services, such as climate regulation, nutrient cycling, carbon storage and oxygen production.
- Up to 1 million species are threatened with extinction – many within decades. Biodiversity loss affects our life-support systems (e.g. food systems) which in turn impacts health and well-being.
- Around 70% of cancer drugs are derived from natural products or synthetic compounds inspired by nature.
- Over 80% of global wastewater is discharged untreated into the natural environment.
- Within the European Union (EU), 39% of the land surface was used for farming in 2018, while according to OECD data, only around a fourth of the land surface was categorized as “protected” in 2021.
- Data from the European Environment Agency show that agriculture, public water supply and tourism represent the most significant use of water resources. In southern Europe, approximately 30 % of the population lives in areas with permanent water stress.
- About two-thirds of the wetlands in the area of the EU were lost in the last century, with 85% of the remaining wetlands showing an unfavourable conservation status.
Overview
Urbanization, land use, global trade and industrialization have profoundly and negatively impacted nature, biodiversity and ecosystems worldwide. The ongoing depletion of natural resources affects environmental conditions, having an enormous impact, for example, on climate change, vector-borne diseases and zoonoses, food safety, water supply, and pharmaceutical opportunities. It thereby endangers health, well-being and security in the WHO European Region.
Protecting nature and counteracting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems is a fundamental requirement for the health of future generations and is targeted explicitly by Sustainable Development Goals 14 and 15 on life below water and on land. Spending time in nature is associated with lower risks for specific health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mental symptoms. Investments in the transition to green and sustainable societies and economies will, therefore, also represent investments in health.
WHO response
WHO, through its European Centre for Environment and Health (WHO ECEH) promotes nature for health and well-being based on evidence. We identify the benefits and risks associated with nature and with green and blue spaces in the urban environment. We gather evidence, good practices and case studies to encourage the integration of nature into the health agenda.
Jointly with other international organizations (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), WHO has endorsed the One Health approach, which aims to bring together public health, animal health, plant health and the environment. More recently, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Framework indicates that a One Health approach should be taken in its implementation indicates that the Framework should be implemented considering the One Health approach. Contributing to this, WHO ECEH supports national and subnational authorities and practitioners to embed nature protection and promotion in national and local policy-making on land use, environment and health. This work includes:
- compilation of assessment reports and evidence reviews on the impact of nature on health and associated priorities for action;
- review of the health perspective on the role of the environment in One Health;
- technical support and capacity-building for Member States on developing, implementing and evaluating national and subnational policies integrating natural elements in spatial and urban planning;
- provision of action briefs and tools to promote sustainability and health through the ecosystem service approach, focusing on promoting the establishment of health-enhancing green and blue spaces in urban settings;
- collaboration on One Health implementation with international actors (such as the FAO, OIE and UNEP) and across WHO, liaising with technical programmes on food safety; zoonoses; antimicrobial resistance; vector-borne disease; climate change; and water, sanitation and hygiene.