Preliminaries; CONTENTS; 1 Why do ecosystems matter to human health?; 2 How have ecosystems changed and what are the health implications?; 3 How might ecosystems change and what would be the health implications?; 4 What actions are required to address the health consequences of ecosystem change?; 5 How can priorities be established for actions to address the health consequences of ecosystem change?; 6 What are the policy implications of the most robust findings and key uncertainties?; Appendix A. Abbreviations, Acronyms and Figure Sources; Appendix B. Assessment Report Tables of Contents
Summary
This report synthesizes the findings from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) global and sub-global assessments of how ecosystem changes do, or could, affect human health and well-being. Over the past 50 years humans have changed natural ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than any comparable period in human history. The findings provide the strongest evidence so far of the ways in which pressures on ecosystems have resulted in the loss of vital ecosystem services, which purify and replenish water, soil and air resources essential to health, and also keep many diseases in check. Loss
