Wetlands and human health - healthy wetlands, healthy people

Posted 6 February 2008

Dear All

As part of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel’s workplan for 2006-08 a working group is preparing a report on wetlands and human health. We discussed this at the STRP meeting held last week in Gland.

In doing this we are interpreting ‘human health’ in a wide context and as a part of human well-being as considered in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment that was published in 2005 after 4-5 years of multi-authored input, assessment and review. See reports at www.MAweb.org.

To complete the report we would like to include further examples of the interactions between human health and wetlands from a wide geographic range of wetland types. If you have information and literature that may assist in doing this please send this to myself at the following email address – mfinlayson@csu.edu.au

We intend to include specific examples in ‘boxes’ inserted into the text, or reference particular information and publications in the text. Topics that we may cover include examples of disease associated with wetlands but also beneficial effects such as nutrition and livelihoods from improved diets and food production, freshwater supply and sanitation, treatment of waste waters, recreational and social etc outcomes……plus also information on the interventions that have occurred to ensure better health-related outcomes for people.

If your information is not in English we would still like you to send it with a succinct summary in English; if this is not possible we will try to find some one who can help us extract the required information.

There is no need to respond directly to the Ramsar Forum unless you wish to engage in a wider discussion of this topic and associated issues.

Best wishes and thanks

Max Finlayson
Professor for Ecology and Biodiversity
Director, Institute for Land, Water and Society
Charles Sturt University
PO Box 789 Albury, NSW 2640
Australia
Office phone: +61-(0)2-60519779
Mobile phone: +61-(0)458271580
Facsimile: +61-(0)2-60519797
Web: www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/