Unhealthy landscapes: Policy recommendations on land use change and infectious disease emergence

Jonathan A. Patz, Peter Daszak, Gary M. Tabor, A. Alonso Aguirre, Mary Pearl, Jon Epstein, Nathan D. Wolfe, A. Marm Kilpatrick, Johannes Foufopoulos, David Molyneux, David J. Bradley, F. P. Amerasinghe, R. W. Ashford, D. Barthelemy, R. Bos, D. J. Bradley, A. Buck, C. Butler, E. S. Chivian, K. B. ChuaG. Clark, R. Colwell, U. E. Confalonieri, C. Corvalan, A. A. Cunningham, J. Dein, A. P. Dobson, J. G. Else, J. Epstein, H. Field, P. Furu, C. Gascon, D. Graham, A. Haines, A. D. Hyatt, A. Jamaluddin, E. F. Kleinau, F. Koontz, H. S. Koren, S. LeBlancq, S. Lele, S. Lindsay, N. Maynard, R. G. McLean, T. McMichael, D. Molyneux, S. S. Morse, D. E. Norris, R. S. Ostfeld, M. C. Pearl, D. Pimentel, L. Rakototiana, O. Randriamanajara, J. Riach, J. P. Rosenthal, E. Salazar-Sanchez, E. Silbergeld, M. Thomson, A. Y. Vittor, L. Yameogo, V. Zakarov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

726 Scopus citations

Abstract

Anthropogenic land use changes drive a range of infectious disease outbreaks and emergence events and modify the transmission of endemic infections. These drivers include agricultural encroachment, deforestation, road construction, dam building, irrigation, wetland modification, mining, the concentration or expansion of urban environments, coastal zone degradation, and other activities. These changes in turn cause a cascade of factors that exacerbate infectious disease emergence, such as forest fragmentation, disease introduction, pollution, poverty, and human migration. The Working Group on Land Use Change and Disease Emergence grew out of a special colloquium that convened international experts in infectious diseases, ecology, and environmental health to assess the current state of knowledge and to develop recommendations for addressing these environmental health challenges. The group established a systems model approach and priority lists of infectious diseases affected by ecologic degradation. Policy-relevant levels of the model include specific health risk factors, landscape or habitat change, and institutional (economic and behavioral) levels. The group recommended creating Centers of Excellence in Ecology and Health Research and Training, based at regional universities and/or research institutes with close links to the surrounding communities. The centers' objectives would be 3-fold: a) to provide information to local communities about the links between environmental change and public health; b) to facilitate fully interdisciplinary research from a variety of natural, social, and health sciences and train professionals who can conduct interdisciplinary research; and c) to engage in science-based communication and assessment for policy making toward sustainable health and ecosystems.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1092-1098
Number of pages7
JournalEnvironmental Health Perspectives
Volume112
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2004

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

Keywords

  • Biodiversity
  • Deforestation
  • Ecosystems
  • Emerging infectious diseases
  • Land use
  • Lyme disease
  • Malaria
  • Urban sprawl
  • Wildlife
  • Zoonosis

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