Importance of Environmental Conservation for Public Health
We should not interfere with botanical diversity. The latter provides ethno-medicines and wild foods that are integral in sustaining public health. Human beings also require clean water and air (Golden et al. e41221).
When the natural biodiversity is distorted through environmental pollution, access to clean water and high quality air is hampered. As a result, air and waterborne diseases are highly likely to be major concerns for public health.
For instance, there are a number of communicable diseases that can be transmitted from one individual to another when the surrounding air is contaminated. Examples include Tuberculosis and influenza. Hence, poor environmental conservation directly impacts public health.
From the article, the have been calculated. The Madagascan rainforest was used to gather the required information in the above calculation.
The findings indicate that the local population has massively benefited from the by the botanical diversity. Several novel pharmaceutical drugs are also obtained from the local biodiversity.
The findings also indicate that local species that are utilized as ethno-medicines amount to 241 while agricultural weed species are about 113 (Golden et al. e41221). Adequate evidence has been provided by the study in relation to the incredible contribution of ethno-medicines in public health.
The research study has also recommended the conservation of tropical forests so that the broad diversity of natural plant species can be beneficial in the management of public health. Sustainable use of the biodiversity across the globe can significantly assist in the reduction of in the modern society.
It is necessary to explore the relationship between environmental conservation and public health. To begin with, our environment cannot be conserved if we continue to pollute it in every available opportunity. One of the common human activities related to environmental degradation is deforestation.
Natural herbs and ethno-medicines cannot be obtained in deforested locations. Whereas public health largely depends on the admission of effective drugs to the diseased individuals, the process may not be possible if the environment is degraded.
Second, the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane often leads into intense carbon sequestration and subsequent global warming as well as climate change. Any form of variation in the natural ecosystem tends to interfere with the regional and global climatic patterns.
Recent research studies on climate change indicate that warmer environmental conditions increase morbidity level of certain diseases. For example, malaria has become more prevalent in high altitude regions contrary to the past few decades.
This implies that public health has been negatively impacted by the disruption of the natural ecosystem. Unless the environment is conserved, the human population will continue to experience increased episodes of ill-health.
Seasonal influenza and several forms of respiratory infections are also triggered by poor conservation of the environment (Mertz 750).
It is equally unfortunate to mention that climate change has led into across the globe. There are regions that experience extreme weather patterns such as intense drought or excessive flooding events.
Such weather patterns have remarkably interfered with crop and animal production. As a consequence, vital food nutrients are no longer available for human consumption. Worse still, some regions in the third world countries have suffered from gross malnutrition and of health (Mertz 745).
Due to mismanagement of the immediate environment, most low-income economies are now seeking ways to address public health challenges occasioned by malnutrition.
