Conservation’s Contributions to Human Health - Conservation International
Human health and environmental protection go hand in hand.
For more than twenty years, CI has been fighting to protect animal and plant species, vibrant landscapes, and healthy ecosystems.
A vital part of that work has always been ensuring that the people who live in, and near, these landscapes and marine regions have enough of their basic needs – abundant food, clean water, fresh air – to thrive.
In the last few years, working with numerous partners and with support from USAID’s Population Environment project, CI’s direct engagement in finding environmental solutions to human health needs has grown significantly.
Without diverse forested watersheds, the water that millions depend on daily loses its natural filtering system. Large rural families – many without sufficient education or the finances to travel far for effective health care – must often search tirelessly for firewood, water and food.
LEARN MORE: If humans can't get what they need to survive, conservation can't succeed.
In simple terms, nature is vital for people’s long-term health.
Clean Water in MadagascarRarely is that connection more obvious than in the relationship between human health and fresh water. Fresh water must be readily available, clean and suitable for agriculture, washing, and – perhaps most importantly– human consumption.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 94 percent of the nearly two million annual diarrheal deaths can be attributed to such factors as unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation.
So between 2005 and 2007, CI and partners like the Malagasy Teknisiana Ho Andy Sy Tean’I Zahamena Sy Ny Ala Atsinana and Action Sante Organization Secours helped families in Madagascar construct more than 2,900 latrines and 2,800 waste pits in more than 30 rural communities.
