ACTION TRACK 6 Integrating environmental health into One Health to tackle drivers of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation For South Africa, this is an opportune time to enhance biodiversity conservation and environmental management efforts that can yield positive benefits for human, animal, plant and environmental health through the One Health approach. The country’s natural resources, which include its diversity of species and ecosystems, are foundational to health, underpinning vital ecosystem services that are essential for health and well-being. Ensuring the constitutional right of every citizen to an environment that isn’t harmful to their well-being depends on healthy, intact ecosystems, species diversity and resilient ecological infrastructure. This should not be seen as distinct from the constitutional right to an environment that is protected. The complex, multifaceted interactions that occur at the human-animal-plant-environment interface can have positive or negative implications for health. Drivers such as pollution, biological invasions, land-use change, climate change and overexploitation of natural resources lead to the degradation of ecosystem and ecological infrastructure and biodiversity loss, and affect air and water quality as well as other ecosystem services that are essential for health. These drivers can also create conditions that are conducive to disease outbreaks and natural disasters, which may have significant effects on biodiversity. By Thato Mogapi of the Biosafety and Alien Invasive Species unit, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, and Bono Nemukula of the Climate Change, Vector Control and Air Quality unit, Department of Health, South Africa Through approaches such as ecosystem-based adaptation, substantial investment has been made in environmental policies, legislative frameworks and management interventions to conserve biodiversity, protect species, restore ecosystem integrity, control and manage biological invasions, mitigate the impacts of air pollution and climate change, and enhance the climate resilience of vulnerable ecological infrastructure and communities. There are continued efforts to reduce illegal wildlife trade, unsustainable harvesting practices and human-wildlife conflict. The ultimate goal is to achieve a healthy environment with well-functioning ecosystems that continue to provide benefits. This will require increased awareness and understanding of the interlinkage between human, animal, plant and environmental health among all the relevant sectors. 15
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