Is Biodiversity Good for Human Health?

Field Auditorium, Duke Environment Hall

Biodiversity

Contact

Susan Jones

919.684.2631

susan.m.jones@duke.edu

Is Biodiversity Good for Human Health?

Field Auditorium, Duke Environment Hall

Conservation and Health Part 2

Many of the most newsworthy infectious disease outbreaks of today are harbored in wildlife, including Ebola, SARS coronaviruses, and Lyme disease. However, multiple lines of evidence indicate that risks from infectious disease are actually reduced when ecosystems are healthy and intact. What are the conditions under which biodiversity is “good” for human infectious disease risks, and when does biodiversity serve as a “spark” for emergence of disease in human populations? We will engage with this important topic in a debate format, focusing on views that engage biodiversity as a beneficial “ecosystem service,” versus the view that biodiversity comes with health risks that should be managed. The event will conclude with perspectives from local experts in conservation biology and infectious disease ecology.

Organizer

CHARLES NUNN
Duke A&S and Duke Global Health Institute

Participants

RICHARD OSTFELD
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

PETER DASZAK
EcoHealth Alliance

Sponsor

The Provost Office and Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine