Skip to navigation – Site map

HomeVolumes and IssuesSpecial Issue 27Chapter 2. Natural ecosystems alt...Natural ecosystems altered and da...

Chapter 2. Natural ecosystems altered and damaged by climate change: a threat to human health

Natural ecosystems altered and damaged by climate change: a threat to human health

p. 50-51

Full text

1Humans, animals and ecosystems all share “one health”. One Health is an integrated, unified approach that invites us to think about health in a new way, recognizing the close interactions between the health of humans, animals and ecosystems. At a time when nearly a quarter of deaths and illnesses worldwide are a consequence of poor environmental conditions,1 it is clearly vital to acknowledge that human health can only flourish if the other two pillars are preserved. We need to protect them so we can safeguard our life on earth.

  • 1 Prüss-Üstün, Annette, Wolf, J., Corvalán, Carlos F., Bos, R. & Neira, Maria Purificación (2016). Pr (...)
  • 2 Ghebreyesus, T. A. (2024, March 28). “Human health is the number one reason that should push us to (...)

2“When we harm1 our environment, we harm ourselves,” warned WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in an op-ed piece appealing for climate change and pollution to be included in our approach to health.2 This reality is increasingly embedded in our collective conscience as the consequences of the damage to ecosystems continue to be assessed and analyzed. The intergovernmental science-policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services (IPBES) says that humanity has never exploited so many natural resources nor generated as much waste as it has in the past 50 years. Climate change is partly responsible because, together with human activities, it is one of the main causes of long-term changes in biodiversity.

3The second part of FACTS uses the One Health approach to explore the indirect effects of climate change on human health, via the alterations it causes to natural ecosystems. This begins with the impacts it has on the planet’s oceans. Our oceans cover almost two thirds of the globe and play an essential role in the health of the planet’s ecosystems. They regulate the climate, are home to almost 80% of the planet’s lifeforms, keep us fed and are key to global trade. In summary, says Françoise Gaill, there would be no life on earth without them. But we are moving dangerously close to the oceans’ limits. Acidification, eutrophication, and variations in temperature and pH may trigger cascading consequences on a scale we still struggle to comprehend.

4Beyond the oceans, aquatic ecosystems as a whole are under threat. Frank Galland highlights the critical situation facing water courses and water tables as a result of disruption caused by extreme weather events that alter the quantity and quality of water resources. Rivers run dry, leading to water shortages, while floods damage habitats and promote the spread of disease. For Jessica Fanzo and Alison Rose, climate change and its consequences amplify the vulnerability of our food systems. With farmland impoverished and degraded by climate events and the nutritional qualities of food reduced, how will it be possible to feed a global population estimated to reach 10 billion people by 2050, when three billion people already suffer from malnutrition today?3

  • 4 Mora, C. et al. (2022). Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate c (...)

5It should also be remembered that ecosystem disruption has a direct influence on the propagation of infectious diseases. According to a recent scientific study,4 over half of all human diseases could be aggravated by climate change. Mary E. Wilson emphasizes the fact that factors such as rising temperatures, destruction of habitats, and forced migration all contribute to the proliferation of vector-borne diseases. The rise in zoonotic diseases – transmitted from wild animals to humans – illustrates the increasing fragility of natural health barriers. This escalating propagation of infectious diseases is particularly evident in certain regions of the world: Sandy Moore and Rita Colwell highlight a growing vulnerability to water-borne diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance. Limited access to infrastructure for water, sanitation and health (WASH) is a major factor underpinning the advance of these diseases, a situation exacerbated by extreme weather events.

6Finally, climate change also accentuates other forms of environmental pollution. In particular, it amplifies air pollution by encouraging the concentration of certain pollutants such as ozone and fine particles created by fires and sand haze, posing yet another risk to public health around the world. Emmanouil Proestakis recounts the effects that fine particles have on human health, with their presence in the air responsible for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases that afflict millions of people every year.

Top of page

Notes

1 Prüss-Üstün, Annette, Wolf, J., Corvalán, Carlos F., Bos, R. & Neira, Maria Purificación (2016). Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments: a global assessment of the burden of disease from environmental risks. World Health Organization. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/204585/9789241565196_eng.pdf.

2 Ghebreyesus, T. A. (2024, March 28). “Human health is the number one reason that should push us to take climate action.” Le Monde.fr. https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2024/03/28/la-sante-humaine-est-la-premiere-raison-qui-doit-nous-pousser-a-agir-sur-le-plan-climatique_6224595_3232.html.

3 World Health Organization (March 1, 2024), Malnutrition. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition.

4 Mora, C. et al. (2022). Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change. Nature Climate Change, 12(9), 869 875. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01426-1.

Top of page

References

Bibliographical reference

“Natural ecosystems altered and damaged by climate change: a threat to human health”Field Actions Science Reports, Special Issue 27 | 2025, 50-51.

Electronic reference

“Natural ecosystems altered and damaged by climate change: a threat to human health”Field Actions Science Reports [Online], Special Issue 27 | 2025, Online since 15 December 2024, connection on 13 February 2025. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/7708

Top of page

Copyright

CC-BY-4.0

The text only may be used under licence CC BY 4.0. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) are “All rights reserved”, unless otherwise stated.

Top of page
Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search