This 2-page fact sheet is available in English and is intended to provide awareness to the impact of global environmental change. The intended audience includes public health professionals, educators, as well as environmental health specialists. From the air we breathe and the water we drink to the timber that provides us with materials for fuel and construction, and to fisheries that are the primary source of animal protein for a large proportion of the world’s population, the world’s ecosystems are essential to human health and wellbeing. Nevertheless, human pressure on such ecosystem “services” is increasing. The sustainability of many vital ecosystems has been strained on many fronts, with varying health impacts — some direct, but most indirect and involving complex ecological mechanisms. These global changes are synergistic. They constitute a new type of health challenge; one that transcends the traditional definitions of environmental health issues and that demands a recognition that the foundations of long-term good health — at the personal, community and population level — rely on the continued stability of life-supporting ecosystems.
