Exploring the Linkages Between Ecosystems and Human Health

The linkages between human health and ecosystems are complex, dynamic, and political. For millennia ecosystems have provided humans with essential services such as food, water, shelter and medicine. At the same time, they have mediated the transmission of many diseases and posed a number of health risks. The vitality of ecosystem services for human health and well-being is well captured by Bernard Abraham, President of Weskit-Chi Aboriginal Trappers Association, when he commented on the importance of forest ecosystems to Aboriginal people. He observed that many Aboriginal people consider the forest as: “their food bank, drugstore, meat market, bakery, fruit and vegetable stand, building material centre, beverage supply, and the habitat for all of the creator’s creatures.”(1)