Researchers say Human Health Depends on Better Ecosystem Management

Health and nutrition expert Professor Mark Wahlqvist has had research published in  the  Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which shows a growing  awareness of the ecosystem-dependent nature of human health.
Professor Wahlqvist of Monash University says “it is unhelpful to look at ourselves as discrete species as the interconnectedness of all things, animate and inanimate, becomes more apparent.” .
“The problem now faced is that ecosystems have been plundered in such an anthropocentric fashion that their sustainability is precarious and our health with it,” he said.
Professor Wahlqvist is calling for a re-evaluation of ecosystems, from the home, school and work-place to health care, communication, transport and recreation. He said we have become accustomed to blaming disease and dysfunction on one factor, or a small set of factors and that these views had contributed to the rise of medications such as antibiotics, as well as their probable imminent demise.
“We confront multiple-resistant microorganisms in farm animals and ourselves that no currently available antibiotic can eradicate, not least because of their misuse as growth promotants in livestock for human consumption,” he says. “Better ecosystem management is likely to be one of the few solutions available to this crisis.”
Professor Wahlqvist also says more integrative approaches to health-care practice are required including eating a varied home-cooked plant-based diet, walking up to 40 minutes a day, and accessing the natural environment.
“A sense of ourselves as ecological creatures is needed, planning as families and communities to reduce environmental pressure, and maintain and renew ecosystems,” he said.
“A whole global movement is needed to provide hope for future generations.”
To read the report, please click here