Challanges for the ForHealth Task Force

1. Challanges for the ForHealth Task Force Seminar on Forests and Human Health April 30, 2008 Matti Rousi

2. ForHealth Task Force • Mental and physical health benefits • Pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals • Forest food and herbs • Infectious and respiratory illnesses • Global environmental change • Biodiversity

3. Response of forest trees to global environmental changes • Extent of changes may be of such that tree species will not have adequate genetic variation to adapt (Chritchfield 1984, Davies and Zabinski 1992) • Environmental changes may occur at such rapid rate that trees, with their long generation times, can not keep pace (Davies and Shaw 2001)

4. Estimated variations in atmospheric CO2 during the past 400 million years Willis and McElwain 2002, The evolution of plants, Oxford University Press

5. Temperature changes during 70 Ma Figure 05

6. Response of trees to global change Characteristics of trees unique to withstand environmental changes: a) Trees maintain high genetic diversity within their populations b) Exceptional phenotypic plasticity But, the uncertaintity at the regional level: fragmented landscapes and invasive pests

7. Adapting to changeFinland's National Adaptation Strategy The Adaptation Strategy presents in great detail the anticipated impacts of climate change in different sectors and measures to be taken until 2080. The objective of the Strategy is to improve the capacity of society to adapt to the changes ahead. The Strategy covers the following sectors:-Agriculture and food production - Fisheries - Reindeer husbandry - Game management - Water resources - Biological diversity - Industry - Energy - Transport and communications - Land use, communities, buildings and construction - Health - Tourism and recreational use of nature.

8. Adapting to climate change in developing countries • Significant uncertanties concerning the direction of climate change, especially in Africa at the regional level. • powerty exacerbates the impacts of environmental change - 1990-98,97 % of all natural disaster-related deaths occurred in developing countries • Livelihoods are highly dependent on climate-sensitive resources, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa • Low adaptation capacity. The poorest inhabitants of developing countries already struggle to cope with current extreme weather events and climate variability

9. ForHealth • Pharmaceuticals and infectious diseases -allergens-respitory illnesses • Forest food and herbs • Mental health benefits • Physical health benefits

10. Malaria • 40% of the world population at risk • every year 500 million people severely ill • deforestation and global change

11. Cinchona 25-40 species Slopes and valleys of Andes 10 degrees N - 9 degrees S alt. 800 m - 3000m ”more valuable than all the silver and gold exported by the Spanish” ” It did for medicine what gun powder did for war.” (Prof.med. Ramazzini)

12. Cinchona and malaria British troops taking their daily dose of quinine powder, Struma Valley, summer 1916 Demand in mid 19th century India: East Indian Company used £ 100 000/ year to treat "the most valuable citizens". British army needed 750 tonnes of bark annually in mid 19th century (i.e. 2 x what was available). The need to prolong the lives of 2 million Indians would require annually 7500 tonnes. To render 25 million sufferes economically active would require annually 75000 tonnes. Africa: ? Supply in mid 19th century Around Loxa, 25000 trees/yr felled Cinchona forests exhausted

13. Ledger-Mamani Cinchona collections Manuel Incra Mamani From uplands of Bolivia, knew 29 varieties of Chincona dies in Coroico 1877, after beaten by the police Charles Ledger 1836 to S America, w pens 1851-1858 alpaca to Australia 1865 British reject Mamani's seeds, sold for £ 20 to Dutch

14. Alkaloid Content Comparison by Cinchona species. Total Alkaloids (%)Quinine Content (%) total alkaloidsquinineSpruce-coll.Ledger-coll. C. calisaya3 - 70 - 4 India, Ceylon Java C. pubescens4.5 - 8.51 - 3 C. Officinalis 5 - 82 - 7.5 C. ledgeriana5 -143 – 13 Java C. succirubra6 - 164 - 14 The impact Indian population 150 million: malaria killed 1 million 1-year-old babies, 1 million 2-10 yr old children, crippled 2 million over 10-yr-old children. Malaria major population control mechanism - without Cinchona tree the Indian population of today 15% of the present?

17. Bioprospectingbusiness based on search for new genes, compounds and organisms that might have potential economic use and might lead to product development • includes traditional knowledge • current markets US$17.5 - 30 million • by 2050 could be over US$ 500 million • the Convention on Biological Diversity • the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Source: Building Biodiversity Business 2008, Shell and IUCN (World Conservation Union)

18. Source: Building Biodiversity Business

19. Building Biodiversity Business, Acronymes

20. Climate change and human health • Climate Change and Human Health -risks and responses 2003 WHO, WMO, UNEP • WHO 60th anniversary - World Health Day focuses on the need to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change.

21. Human health and forestsrecent books and articles • Indigenous health in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2006. Raul A Montenegro and Carolyn Stephens, The Lancet vol 367 • Forests and Human Health 2006 Unasylva /2, 224 • Forests and Human Health (2006) Assesing the evidence C. J. P. Colfer, D. Shield and M. Kishi, eds. CIFOR Occasional Paper No 45 • Human Health and Forests (2008) Global overview of issues, practice and policy Carol J. Pierce Colfer, ed. Earthscan 2008

22. Human health and forests:an overwievColin D Butler 2008 • Major vector born diseases are found in tropical countries • Many factors are involved in the epidemiology of tropical diseases, including poverty, human population density, human migration, climatic changes and the presence or scarity of human capability • Modification of forest ecosystems may be necessary, but is rarely sufficient to increase disease transmission or to generate an epidemic.

23. Challanges for the task force • Large number of existing projects and initatives connected to forests and health -ecohealth, biodiversity, ecosystem services -it is hard to get the stakeholders engage in a new (small) initiative => Join forces with another, established stakeholder "jump in the moving train" and add more forestry perspective

25. Bioprospecting • more than half of the 150 most-precribed drugs in the USA from, or patterned after natural sources, as • 62% of cancer drugs approved in the USA • 80% of small molecule new chemicals introduced globally as drugs are traced, or were inspired by natural products 2002-03 • Annual sales of products derived from traditional knowledge of genetic resources are estimated at: -US$ 3 billion for cosmetic and personal care -US$ 20 billion for botanical medical sector -US$ 75 billion for pharmaceutical industry Source: Building Biodiversity Business 2008

26. Bioprospecting • Cautions: • Costa Rica: $4.5 million from bioprospecting accords vs. $ 400 million from ecoturism • biopiracy • warnings of declining profits Source: Building Biodiversity Business 2008, Shell and IUCN

27. Emerging Diseases in changing European eNvironment24 countries involved, EU subvention 11.5 million euros for five years • Tick-borne pathogens – causing diseases already present in Europe • that have shown significant recent increases in incidence, at least partly • due to changes in human behaviour in relation to the environment. • Rodent-borne viruses (hanta, arena, cowpox) – widespread but • under-reported diseases within Europe, with strong links with habitat • and landscape structures. • Leishmaniasis – persistent on the southern fringes of Europe and • beyond (southern Mediterranean basin), with the potential to expand as • environments change. • West Nile Virus – periodic and occasionally severe local outbreaks, • especially on the eastern fringes of Europe, currently showing strong • associations with landscape patterns but also (the USA experience) • potential for explosive spread. • Malaria – an ancient scourge of Europe, currently now on her southern • and eastern fringes, with the potential for re-emergence following • environmental changes. • African source diseases –new strains of West Nile Virus and new • diseases such as Rift Valley Fever may be introduced to Europe from • tropical regions linked by bird and other (e.g. traded livestock) migratory • routes to Europe.

28. Nature and Health. The influence of nature on social, psychological and physical well-beingHealth Council of the Netherlands and Dutch Advisory Council for Research on Spatial Planning, Nature and the Environment. Nature and Health. • In conclusion • The Committee notes that follow-up research is required in order to provide further support for the indications from existing theoretical and empirical research into the beneficial effect of nature on health. Most evidence from empirical research relates to the effect on recovery from stress and attention fatigue. Much less is known about the other mechanisms (encouragement to exercise, facilitating social contact and influence on development of children). In other cases, the evidence is weak, due to the methodological limitations of the research (influence on personal development and a sense of purpose). However, existing research already provides consistent clues for assuming a positive link between nature and health. If further research confirms these results, this will underline more attention in decision making for green strategies that many people already perceive as good for health.

29. Challanges for the task force • Millenium Ecosystem Assessment the main conceptual framework used => -adapt to the same terminology and framework -join forces, "jump in the moving train" COHAB - process

30. COHAB Initiative Co-Operation On Health And Biodiversity an international programme of work on human well-being and sustainable development Truly sustainable development must incorporate all areas of human activity and our interactions with the environment, and therefore requires that social, economic, public health and environmental needs be resolved holistically. In order to fully achieve sustainable progress - whether at local, national, regional or international levels - policy makers, scientists, stakeholders and the wider public must work to integrate a multitude of otherwise distinct disciplines.