Ecosystem health and malfunctions: an organisational perspective

A recent idea of "ecosystem health" was introduced in the 1970s and 1980s to draws attention to the fact that ecosystems can become ill because of a reduction of properties such as primary productivity, functions and diversity of interactions among system components. Starting from the 1990s, this idea has been deeply criticized by authors who argued that, insofar as ecosystems show many differences with respect to organismic features, these two kinds of systems cannot share a typical organismic property such as health. In recent years, an organisational approach in philosophy of biology and ecology argued that both organisms and ecosystems may share a fundamental characteristic despite their differences, namely, organisational closure. Based on this kind of closure, scholars have also discussed health and malfunctional states in organisms. In this paper, we examine the possibility of expanding such an organisational approach to health and malfunctions to the ecological domain. Firstly, we will see that a malfunction is related to a lower effectiveness in the functional behaviour of some biotic components with respect to other systemic components. We will then show how some introduced species do not satisfactorily interact in an organisational closure with other ecosystem components, thus posing a threat to the self-maintenance of the ecosystem in which they are found. Accordingly, we will argue that an ecosystem can be said to be healthy when it is a vital environment organisationally grounded on its intrinsic capacity to ensure, under favourable conditions, appropriate functional behaviours for ecosystem components and ecosystem self-maintenance.

Spatio-Temporal Changes in Ecosystem Quality across the Belt and Road Region

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative (BRI) proposed in 2013 by China has greatly accelerated the social and economic development of the countries along the Belt and Road (B&R) region. However, the international community has questioned its impact on the ecological environment and a comprehensive assessment of ecosystem quality changes is lacking. Therefore, this study proposes an objective and automatic method to assess ecosystem quality and analyzes the spatiotemporal changes in the B&R region. First, an ecosystem quality index (EQI) is established by integrating the vegetation status derived from three remote sensing ecological parameters including the leaf area index, fractional vegetation cover and gross primary productivity. Then, the EQI values are automatically categorized into five ecosystem quality levels including excellent, good, moderate, low and poor to illustrate their spatiotemporal changes from the years 2016 to 2020. The results indicate that the spatial distributions of the EQIs across the B&R region exhibited similar patterns in the years 2016 and 2020. The regions with excellent levels accounted for the lowest proportion of less than 12%, while regions with moderate, low and poor levels accounted for more than 68% of the study area. Moreover, based on the EQI pattern analysis between the years 2016 and 2020, the regions with no significant EQI change accounted for up to 99.33% and approximately 0.45% experienced a significantly decreased EQI. Therefore, this study indicates that the ecosystem quality of the B&R region was relatively poor and experienced no significant change in the five years after the implementation of the "Vision and Action to Promote the Joint Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road". This study can provide useful information for decision support on the future ecological environment management and sustainable development of the B&R region.

Integrating Ecosystem Health and Services for Assessing Ecological Risk and its Response to Typical Land-Use Patterns in the Eco-fragile Region, North China

Changes in land-use patterns may increase the ecological risks faced by Eco-Fragile regions. It is vital for regional ecological restoration and management of Eco-Fragile regions to reasonably assess ecological risk and study its response to typical land-use patterns. Existing study on regional ecological risk largely ignored the internal representation of ecosystem health and ecosystem services to ecological risk, and also ignored the internal relationship between ecological risk and land use patterns. This study developed a regional ecological assessment model by describing the relationship between ecosystem health, ecosystem services and ecological risks. Among them, the ecosystem health assessment used the Net Primary Productivity, landscape index and ecosystem elasticity coefficient based on different land use patterns to build Vigor-Organization-Resilience (VOR) model, and the improved equivalent factor method was used to calculate the ecosystem service value. Taking the Fen River Basin (FRB), a typical Eco-Fragile region of the Loess Plateau, as a study region, spatial auto-correlation analysis was used to reveal the temporal and spatial changes and spatial clustering characteristics of regional ecological risk, and regression analysis was used to study the relationship between typical land use patterns and ecological risks, which was included in the consideration of ecological and environmental risk management strategies. The results show that the regions with high ecological risk are mainly distributed in the middle and southwest of the FRB; the regions with low ecological risk are mainly distributed in the north, east and west of the FRB. Both high-risk and low-risk areas show significant spatial clustering effects. The change of ecological risk in FRB is related to the land use patterns. The ecological risk is negatively related to the expansion of construction land and cultivated land at the county and patch scales. On this basis, the environmental management strategies at different scales are discussed. This study can helpful deepen the understanding of the impact of land use patterns on ecological risk, and can also provide important reference for regional ecological risk management and land use policies.

Advancing One human-animal-environment Health for global health security: what does the evidence say?

In this Series paper, we review the contributions of One Health approaches (ie, at the human-animal-environment interface) to improve global health security across a range of health hazards and we summarise contemporary evidence of incremental benefits of a One Health approach. We assessed how One Health approaches were reported to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE), and WHO, within the monitoring and assessment frameworks, including WHO International Health Regulations (2005) and WOAH Performance of Veterinary Services. We reviewed One Health theoretical foundations, methods, and case studies. Examples from joint health services and infrastructure, surveillance-response systems, surveillance of antimicrobial resistance, food safety and security, environmental hazards, water and sanitation, and zoonoses control clearly show incremental benefits of One Health approaches. One Health approaches appear to be most effective and sustainable in the prevention, preparedness, and early detection and investigation of evolving risks and hazards; the evidence base for their application is strongest in the control of endemic and neglected tropical diseases. For benefits to be maximised and extended, improved One Health operationalisation is needed by strengthening multisectoral coordination mechanisms at national, regional, and global levels.

Dynamic evolution characteristics and driving factors of tourism ecosystem health in China

Tourism ecosystem health is key to high-quality tourism development. China is now promoting sustainable development and high-quality transformation and upgrading of regional tourism; thus, the research on tourism ecosystem health is of practical significance. Based on the DPSIR model, an evaluation index system of tourism ecosystem health in China was constructed. Then the entropy weight method, spatial autocorrelation analysis, Markov chain analysis, and quantile regression were used to explore the dynamic evolution characteristics and driving factors of tourism ecosystem health in China from 2011 to 2020. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) The tourism ecosystem health in China showed an M-shaped fluctuation process as a whole, with significant spatial correlation and spatial difference. (2) There was a "path-dependent" and "self-locking" effect on the type transfer of tourism ecosystem health, and the type transfer was mainly between adjacent types in successive transfers, with the probability of downward transfer higher than upward transfer, and the geospatial background played a significant role in its dynamic evolution process. (3) In provinces with low tourism ecosystem health type, the negative effect of technological innovation capacity was more significant, and the influence coefficient of the positive effect of tourism environmental regulation and information technology level was larger, while in provinces with high tourism ecosystem health type, the negative effect of tourism industry agglomeration was more significant, and the influence coefficient of the positive effect of tourism industry structure and tourism land-use scale was larger.

Health evaluation and key influencing factor analysis of green technological innovation system

Green technological innovation (GTI) aims to realize management innovation and technological innovation with the goal of protecting the environment. The health model is an important aspect of evaluating whether a system is sustainable. There are few studies on the health of green technological innovation system (GTIS), and almost no indicators to evaluate whether GTIS status is sustainable. Here, we first put forward the concept and framework of GTI health. Drawing on the theoretical analysis of natural ecosystems and commercial ecosystems, a health evaluation index system of GTIS is constructed. Using panel data analysis, the GTI status of 30 provinces in China during 2012-2019 is evaluated, the health index and health grade are calculated, and the key factors affecting GTIS health are determined. Through robustness analysis, the consistency of the research framework is verified and several unique insights into the healthy development of GTIS are presented. The results show that there is heterogeneity in GTIS health grades in different provinces, but health grades of most provinces show upward trends within 8 years. Government funds, foreign direct investment, pollution control investment, green product sales revenue, and green technology trading volume are the foci of healthy improvement of GTIS, and they are all positive indicators.

Urbanisation and ecosystem health in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomerations, China: A U-curve relationship

Rapid urbanisation in global urban agglomerations has caused serious disturbances to the structure, function, and health state of ecosystems. Investigating the driving mechanisms behind the impact of urbanisation level (UL) on ecosystem health index (EHI) is important for constructing ecological civilisation and developing superior urban agglomerations in China. However, no in-depth studies exist on these mechanisms in various urban agglomerations, which makes formulation and implementation of effective ecosystem management and control policies difficult. In this study, we estimated UL and EHI based on multisource data, and a set of spatial regression models were then used to analyse the driving mechanisms at global and local scales in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration (MRYRUA) in China between 1995 and 2015. Our results demonstrated that EHIs in the MRYRUA were 0.627, 0.613, and 0.610 in 1995, 2005, and 2015, respectively, with 2.71% decreases during the study period. The EHI in the surrounding mountainous regions was considerably higher than that in the plains. There was a significant spatial dependence between the UL and EHI. Low UL and high EHI, high UL and low EHI, and low UL and low EHI were the dominant relationship types in the MRYRUA (25.61%, 11.83%, and 11.27%, respectively). A 10% increase in UL resulted in 1.79%, 2.50%, and 2.99% decrease in EHI for each reference year in the spatial error model with lag dependence model. A U-shaped relationship was identified between UL and EHI in different urban agglomerations and cities of different administrative levels. Therefore, the results of this study can provide a scientific basis for the formulation of macro-control policies and locally specific control policies for ecosystem protection in the MRYRUA.

The Promotion and Development of One Health at Swiss TPH and Its Greater Potential

One Health, an integrated health concept, is now an integral part of health research and development. One Health overlaps with other integrated approaches to health such as EcoHealth or Planetary Health, which not only consider the patient or population groups but include them in the social-ecological context. One Health has gained the widest foothold politically, institutionally, and in operational implementation. Increasingly, One Health is becoming part of reporting under the International Health Legislation (IHR 2005). The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) has played a part in these developments with one of the first mentions of One Health in the biomedical literature. Here, we summarise the history of ideas and processes that led to the development of One Health research and development at the Swiss TPH, clarify its theoretical and methodological foundations, and explore its larger societal potential as an integrated approach to thinking. The history of ideas and processes leading to the development of One Health research at the Swiss TPH were inspired by far-sighted and open ideas of the directors and heads of departments, without exerting too much influence. They followed the progressing work and supported it with further ideas. These in turn were taken up and further developed by a growing number of individual scientists. These ideas were related to other strands of knowledge from economics, molecular biology, anthropology, sociology, theology, and linguistics. We endeavour to relate Western biomedical forms of knowledge generation with other forms, such as Mayan medicine. One Health, in its present form, has been influenced by African mobile pastoralists’ integrated thinking that have been taken up into Western epistemologies. The intercultural nature of global and regional One Health approaches will inevitably undergo further scrutiny of successful ways fostering inter-epistemic interaction. Now theoretically well grounded, the One Health approach of seeking benefits for all through better and more equitable cooperation can clearly be applied to engagement in solving major societal problems such as social inequality, animal protection and welfare, environmental protection, climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and conflict transformation.

A multi-scale assessment of ecosystem health based on the Pressure-State-Response framework: a case in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Urban Agglomerations, China

Anthropogenic activities have reshaped the structure and function of ecosystems in global urban agglomerations. Evaluating the spatiotemporal features of ecosystem health for sustainable and high-quality development and the strategic deployment of ecological civilisation in urban agglomerations is essential. However, existing research lacks a multi-scale assessment of ecosystem health in urban agglomerations, limiting governments in formulating effective ecosystem management policies. To bridge this gap, a multi-scale assessment of ecosystem health at the county and township levels in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Urban Agglomerations (MRYRUA) in China was conducted using the 'Pressure-State-Response' framework. The results showed that most units (> 70%) were at a moderately healthy level, while only a small proportion (< 10%) was at a healthy level from 2000 to 2015 at both scales. The ecosystem health level in the surrounding and central mountainous areas was significantly higher than that in the plain areas. Our results demonstrated that the overall ecosystem health index in the MRYRUA continued to decrease during the study period at both scales. The ecosystem health in the key cities, the surrounding units of the key cities, and the units along the main traffic routes were low. This study provides an overview of ecosystem health and a scientific basis for landscape planning and ecosystem restoration in the MRYRUA.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Ecosystem Health of China's Provinces Based on SDGs

In the context of increasing ecological scarcity, maintaining the balance between natural and artificial capital has become a popular research topic in the field of ecosystem health. From the perspective of coordinating natural and artificial capital and maintaining the balance between human systems and the Earth's ecosystem, the Ecosystem Health Index (EHI) was developed on the basis of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The EHI consists of the Social Progress Index (SPI), Economic Development Index (EDI), Natural Environment Index (NEI), and a pressure adjustment coefficient. Comprehensive indicator assessment models were used to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of the EHIs in 30 of China's provinces from 2013 to 2019. A three-dimensional judgment matrix was used to classify the 30 provinces into four basic types. The results show the following: (1) From 2013 to 2019, the EHIs of all provinces improved to different degrees, with 19 provinces achieving a healthy state. (2) Spatially, the EHI showed some regional aggregation in 2013. Provinces with high EHIs were concentrated in the west, followed by those in the east, and those in the central provinces had the lowest EHIs. However, the differences between regions had narrowed by 2019. (3) The spatial distribution patterns of the NEI and the EDI varied widely, and most provinces did not reach a high level of coordination between natural and artificial capital. (4) The environmental pressure in all provinces, except Liaoning, decreased over time. In some cases, excessive pressure decreased the pressure-adjusted EHI, regardless of the EHI value. (5) According to the results of the ecosystem health classification in each province, the factors that hinder ecosystem health vary from place to place.

Local Ecological Knowledge on Mangroves in Mayotte Island (Indian Ocean) and Influencing Factors

The majority of studies on local ecological knowledge (LEK) relate to communities or groups relying on ecosystem(s) for their livelihood. In our case study, Mayotte Island, a French overseas department, very few people rely on mangrove ecosystem for natural resources but most of them are attached to it because of leisure activities and beliefs. The questions on mangrove LEK generally deal with a single aspect of ecological knowledge of surveyed people and is mixed with other information such as harvesting practices, anthropogenic impacts, and management issues. The aim of our study is to better understand the level of ecological knowledge of surveyed inhabitants of Mayotte and to assess whether factors linked to the profile of respondents have an influence on it. For this purpose, we carried out two main survey campaigns in three villages fringing two stable mangroves of Mayotte: the first one consisted of qualitative interviews and the second one, questionnaires lending quantitative results. Cross tabulations and Chi square tests of independence were carried out to determine the link between LEK and influencing factors. Results show that some LEK implying localized observation, such as the identification of mangrove trees and the knowledge of the coastal protection role of the mangrove, are well shared by surveyed people whereas others, such as the number and the name of mangrove tree species, are poorly known. The results also highlight the difficulty of questions implying observation at the landscape level and interpretation of observation. All the influencing factors selected have a significant influence on, at least, one LEK variable. The results highlight differences in LEK of villages bordering two nearby mangroves calling for a local management of these systems.

The Impact of Urbanization on Ecosystem Health in Typical Karst Areas: A Case Study of Liupanshui City, China

The karst region of Southwest China is one of the largest continuous karst areas in the world, and the ecosystem in the karst region is extremely fragile. The city of Liupanshui, a typical karst area in southwestern China, has provided the main energy and raw materials during China's rapid urbanization in the past few decades. With the continuous deterioration of the environment in Liupanshui and from the viewpoint of sustainable development strategies, research on ecosystem health (ESH) and the assessments of correlations between urbanization and ESH plays an important role in regional sustainable eco-environmental development. Therefore, the impact of urbanization on the ecosystem health of the study area was discussed in this study using a series of remote sensing images and socio-economic data from 1990 to 2015. Studies showed that Liupanshui is undergoing rapid urbanization, and the growth of urbanized land reached a peak between 2010 and 2015. From 1990 to 2015, the level of ESH in Liupanshui trended downward and then increased. During 2000 to 2010, due to the policy of returning farmland to grassland and forestland, the substantial increase in woodland and grassland and the management policy of mining areas have caused a turn in ESH. Although the value of ecosystem health in 2010-2015 increased, the process of urbanization is rapid, so we should pay more attention to the trend in future ecosystem health changes. The findings revealed that urbanization significantly negatively affects the ecosystem health of Liupanshui, and mining has the greatest impact. Therefore, in future urban development, strengthening the management of resource extraction and the supervision of environmental protection, continuing to return farmland to grassland and forestry, and controlling rocky desertification can improve the health of the urban ecosystem in the study area.

Study on the Sustainable Development of an Arid Basin Based on the Coupling Process of Ecosystem Health and Human Wellbeing Under Land Use Change—A Case Study in the Manas River Basin, Xinjiang, China

Due to the differences in the contributions of land use types to ecosystem health and human wellbeing, there is a trade-off and a coordinating relationship between ecosystem health and human wellbeing, which affects the sustainable development of a river basin. To explore the impacts of the responses of ecosystem health and human wellbeing and the combined effects under land use change, this paper, taking the Manas River Basin (MRB) as an example, evaluated the health status of the MRB by the model: Vitality (V), organization (O), resilience (R), and services (S). From a sustainability perspective, an index system of human wellbeing was constructed, which included society and the economy, health and safety, materials and resources, and ecology and the environment. On this basis, the coupling coordination relationship and sustainable development status of the basin was assessed. The results showed that as land use changed, the ecosystem health showed a downward trend, and human wellbeing grew exponentially. The sustainable development index and the coupling coordination degree of the MRB were similar, indicating that the level of balance between ecosystem health and human wellbeing was the key to the sustainable development of the basin, and the overall situation was in a state of moderate imbalance and moderate unsustainability. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out sustainable management of the whole basin.

A Review on Ecosystem Health Research: A Visualization Based on CiteSpace

With ecological environments that play vital roles in sustaining human communities worsening, ecological health has drawn extensive attention from scholars and practitioners. It is obvious that research results relevant to ecological health are increasing. This study applies scientometric methods to evaluate the current situation of ecological heath research, and explore the developing trends of ecological health research based on the literature data obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Study results generated in this paper could clearly answer the three following questions: (1) What are the subject categories that scholars are most concerned about in the ecological health research area? (2) Which authors and journals are the most representative in this area? On which research areas do researchers focus at different stages? What are the documents that attract scholarly attention? (3) What are the representative keywords in the different periods? What are the research focuses and the new emerging trends in the field of ecological health? In general, this paper provides an effective research method to evaluate the performance of ecological health research. The paper may assist new researchers to pick out the most relevant journals, articles, keywords, and influential authors, consequently assisting researchers to be at the research frontier in the ecological health field, and finally, to establish future research directions.

The good, the bad and the ugly: framing debates on nature in a One Health community

Originating in medical and veterinary spheres, the One Health concept stands as an open call for collaboration also between these disciplines or professions and those of environmental and social science. However, the communities of practice in question show uneasy or under-developed collaborations, due to a variety of factors. We argue that an important factor is the way issues are raised and questions are formulated, i.e., their framing. Based on complementary perspectives on health and knowledge, this overview provides an inter- and trans-disciplinary analysis of the role of the framing of « nature » in One Health discourses as a barrier or a facilitator to collaboration, as revealed by the scientific literature. We find that the lack of reflection by scientists about the framing under which they operate appears as a major factor of misunderstanding between disciplines, and a barrier for inter- and trans-disciplinary solutions to improve management of health risks and benefits. Hence, to build such solutions, framing will have to be a conscious and repeated step in the process, acknowledging and explaining the diversity of viewpoints and values. The interdisciplinary dialogues inherent in this process promote translation between scientific domains, policy-makers and citizens, with a critical but pluralistic recourse to various framings of health risks and benefits associated with nature, and a deep awareness of their practical and ethical consequences.

Transdisciplinary and social-ecological health frameworks-Novel approaches to emerging parasitic and vector-borne diseases

Ecosystem Health, Conservation Medicine, EcoHealth, One Health, Planetary Health and GeoHealth are inter-related disciplines that underpin a shared understanding of the functional prerequisites of health, sustainable vitality and wellbeing. All of these are based on recognition that health interconnects species across the planet, and they offer ways to more effectively tackle complex real-world challenges. Herein we present a bibliometric analysis to document usage of a subset of such terms by journals over time. We also provide examples of parasitic and vector-borne diseases, including malaria, toxoplasmosis, baylisascariasis, and Lyme disease. These and many other diseases have persisted, emerged or re-emerged, and caused great harm to human and animal populations in developed and low income, biodiverse nations around the world, largely because of societal drivers that undermined natural processes of disease prevention and control, which had developed through co-evolution over millennia. Shortcomings in addressing drivers has arisen from a lack or coordinated efforts among researchers, health stewards, societies at large, and governments. Fortunately, specialists collaborating under transdisciplinary and socio-ecological health umbrellas are increasingly integrating established and new techniques for disease modeling, prediction, diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention. Such approaches often emphasize conservation of biodiversity for health protection, and they provide novel opportunities to increase the efficiency and probability of success.

Systems Thinking in Practice: Participatory Modeling as a Foundation for Integrated Approaches to Health

One Health (OH), EcoHealth (EH), and Planetary Health (PH) share an interest in transdisciplinary efforts that bring together scientists, citizens, government and private sectors to implement contextualized actions that promote adaptive health management across human, animal and ecosystem interfaces. A key operational element underlying these Integrated Approaches to Health (IAH) is use of Systems Thinking as a set of tools for integration. In this paper we discuss the origins and epistemology of systems thinking and argue that participatory modeling, informed by both systems theory and expertise in facilitating engagement and social learning, can help ground IAH theoretically and support its development. Participatory modeling is iterative and adaptive, which is necessary to deal with complexity in practice. Participatory modeling (PM) methods actively involve affected interests and stakeholders to ground the field of inquiry in a specific social-ecological context. Furthermore, PM processes act to reconcile the diverse understandings of the empirical world that stem from divergent discipline and community viewpoints. In this perspective article, we argue that PM can support systems thinking in practice and is essential for IAH implementation. Accordingly we invite PH, OH, and EH practitioners to systematically incorporate specialists in systems science and social engagement and facilitation. This will enable the appropriate contextualization of research practice and interventions, and ensure a balanced representation of the roles and relationships of medical, biological, mathematical, and social disciplines. For completeness, funding schemes supporting IAH need to follow the same iterative, adaptive, and participative processes to accompany IAH projects throughout their implementation.

A new framework for assessing river ecosystem health with consideration of human service demand

In order to study river health status from harmonic relationship between human and natural environment, a river health evaluation method was proposed from the aspects of ecosystem integrity and human service demand, and the understanding of river health connotation. The proposed method is based on the harmony theory and two types of river health assessment methods (the forecasting model and index evaluation). A new framework for assessing river water health was then formed from the perspective of harmony and dynamic evolution between human service demand and river ecosystem integrity. As a case study, the method and framework were applied to the Shaying River Basin, a tributary of the most polluted Huaihe River Basin in China. The health status of the river's ecosystem and its effect on the mainstream of Huaihe River were evaluated based on water ecological experiment. The results indicated that: (1) the water ecological environment in Shaying River was generally poor and showed a gradual changing pattern along the river. The river health levels were generally "medium" in the upstream but mostly "sub-disease" in the midstream and downstream, indicating that the water pollution in Shaying River were mainly concentrated in the midstream and downstream; (2) the water pollution of Shaying River had great influence on the ecosystem of Huaihe River, and the main influencing factors were TN, followed by TP and COD_Mn; (3) the natural attribute of river was transferring toward to the direction of socialization due to the increasing human activities. The stronger the human activity intervention is, the faster the transfer will be and the more river's attributes will match with human service demand. The proposed framework contributes to the research in water ecology and environment management, and the research results can serve as an important reference for basin management in Shaying River and Huaihe River.

Linking ecosystem services and ecosystem health to ecological risk assessment: A case study of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration

Scientists have paid attention to the evaluation of the risk of ecosystem service degradation under rapid urbanization; yet the performance of the existing frameworks could be improved for tackling the challenges in the evaluation. In this study, a framework combining ecosystem service with ecosystem health as an assessing endpoint of ecological risk assessment was established. The framework was applied to investigate the way in which urbanization influences the ecosystem risk of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. Firstly, the decrease ratio of ecosystem service was mainly distributed in the range from 0 to 15%; the mean value of ecosystem health decreased from 0.402 to 0.311 from 2000 to 2010. The number of assessment units exhibiting risk degree grade I (the lowest risk degree grade) decreased by 7.03%, while the number of assessment units exhibiting risk degree grade V (the highest risk degree grade) increased by 1.61% from 2000 to 2010. The ratio of artificial surface should be controlled below 70%, based on the fitting model and for the purpose of resilience management. Overall, the analytical framework can comprehensively evaluate the impacts of complex practices in land-use planning on ecosystems.

Assessment of Regional Ecosystem Health-A Case Study of the Golden Triangle of Southern Fujian Province, China

Intensifying urbanization and rapid population growth in Fujian Province, China, has caused pollution of air and water resources; this has adversely impacted ecosystems and human health. China has recently begun pursuing a massive infrastructure and economic development strategy called the Belt and Road Initiative, which could potentially cause further environmental damage. Evaluations of ecosystem health are therefore a first step towards identifying the potential impacts from the development and planning sustainable development strategies in the Golden Triangle of Southern Fujian. To this end, our study analyzed landscape patterns and evaluated ecosystem health in this region. We used an index system method to develop a pressure–state–response (PSR) model for assessing the region’s ecosystem health. We found that: (1) the landscape type with the greatest area in the study region is cultivated land and there were no areas that were undisturbed by human activity; (2) the overall ecological health of the region is good, but there is distinct variation across the region. This study incorporates the landscape pattern into an evaluation of ecosystem health. Using counties as evaluation units, we provide a general evaluation index for this scale. The methods reported here can be used in complex ecological environments to inform sustainable management decisions.

Public health guide to field developments linking ecosystems, environments and health in the Anthropocene

The impacts of global environmental change have precipitated numerous approaches that connect the health of ecosystems, non-human organisms and humans. However, the proliferation of approaches can lead to confusion due to overlaps in terminology, ideas and foci. Recognising the need for clarity, this paper provides a guide to seven field developments in environmental public health research and practice: occupational and environmental health; political ecology of health; environmental justice; ecohealth; One Health; ecological public health; and planetary health. Field developments are defined in terms of their uniqueness from one another, are historically situated, and core texts or journals are highlighted. The paper ends by discussing some of the intersecting features across field developments, and considers opportunities created through such convergence. This field guide will be useful for those seeking to build a next generation of integrative research, policy, education and action that is equipped to respond to current health and sustainability challenges.

One Health training and research activities in Western Europe

INTRODUCTION

The increase in emerging human infectious diseases that have a zoonotic origin and the increasing resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobial drugs have shown the need for collaborations between the human, animal and environmental health sectors. The One Health concept increasingly receives recognition from policy makers and researchers all over the world. This overview compiled research and education activities in the area of One Health in Western Europe (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scandinavia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (UK), with a focus on infectious diseases. It can serve as a starting point for future initiatives and collaborations.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A literature search for 'One Health' was performed using National Center for Biotechnology Information and Google. Moreover, information from global and European policy documents was collected and a questionnaire was designed to gather current One Health research and training activities in Western Europe.

RESULTS

This overview shows that there is considerable recognition for One Health in Europe, although most educational initiatives are recent. In Europe, the One Health approach is currently mainly advocated in relation to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Many countries have incorporated the One Health approach in their policy to fight AMR, and funding possibilities for AMR research increased significantly. The number of national and international multidisciplinary research networks in the area of zoonotic diseases and One Health is increasing.

DISCUSSION

Although One Health has gained recognition in Europe, often a One Health approach to research and education in the area of zoonotic diseases and AMR is not implemented. In many countries, collaboration between sectors is still lacking, and One Health activities are predominantly initiated by the veterinary sector. To facilitate the multidisciplinary approach that is needed to fight zoonotic diseases and AMR, exploring current barriers for collaboration is needed. Targeted funding can help address these boundaries and facilitate multidisciplinary research and training to fight both zoonotic diseases and AMR in Europe.

Remote sensing of ecosystem health: opportunities, challenges, and future perspectives

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1) scale issue; (2) transportability issue; (3) data availability; and (4) uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges.

A regional-scale Ocean Health Index for Brazil

Brazil has one of the largest and fastest growing economies and one of the largest coastlines in the world, making human use and enjoyment of coastal and marine resources of fundamental importance to the country. Integrated assessments of ocean health are needed to understand the condition of a range of benefits that humans derive from marine systems and to evaluate where attention should be focused to improve the health of these systems. Here we describe the first such assessment for Brazil at both national and state levels. We applied the Ocean Health Index framework, which evaluates ten public goals for healthy oceans. Despite refinements of input data and model formulations, the national score of 60 (out of 100) was highly congruent with the previous global assessment for Brazil of 62. Variability in scores among coastal states was most striking for goals related to mariculture, protected areas, tourism, and clean waters. Extractive goals, including Food Provision, received low scores relative to habitat-related goals, such as Biodiversity. This study demonstrates the applicability of the Ocean Health Index at a regional scale, and its usefulness in highlighting existing data and knowledge gaps and identifying key policy and management recommendations. To improve Brazil's ocean health, this study suggests that future actions should focus on: enhancing fisheries management, expanding marine protected areas, and monitoring coastal habitats.

Urban ecosystem health assessment: perspectives and Chinese practice

The concept of ecosystem health is a way to assess the holistic operations and development potential of urban ecosystems. Accelerated by the practical need for integrated ecosystem management, assessment of urban ecosystem health has been greatly developed and extensively applied in urban planning and management. Development is aimed at comprehensively evaluating the performance of urban ecosystems, identifying the limiting factors, and providing suggestions for urban regulation. The time has come for reviewing and establishing an instructional framework for urban ecosystem health assessment to shed light on certain essential issues of urban ecosystem health. Based on literature reviews and series of practice, a holistic framework of urban ecosystem health assessment is proposed. The framework covers the essential elements of urban ecosystem health and integrates three dimensions: theoretical foundation, assessment method, and practical application. Concrete assessment methods are also established, focusing on both external performance and internal metabolic processes. The practice of urban ecosystem health assessment in China is illustrated to briefly demonstrate the application of the established framework and methods. Some prospects are discussed for urban ecosystem health assessment and its application in urban planning and management.

An index to assess the health and benefits of the global ocean

The ocean plays a critical role in supporting human well-being, from providing food, livelihoods and recreational opportunities to regulating the global climate. Sustainable management aimed at maintaining the flow of a broad range of benefits from the ocean requires a comprehensive and quantitative method to measure and monitor the health of coupled human–ocean systems. We created an index comprising ten diverse public goals for a healthy coupled human–ocean system and calculated the index for every coastal country. Globally, the overall index score was 60 out of 100 (range 36–86), with developed countries generally performing better than developing countries, but with notable exceptions. Only 5% of countries scored higher than 70, whereas 32% scored lower than 50. The index provides a powerful tool to raise public awareness, direct resource management, improve policy and prioritize scientific research.

From "one medicine" to "one health" and systemic approaches to health and well-being

Faced with complex patterns of global change, the inextricable interconnection of humans, pet animals, livestock and wildlife and their social and ecological environment is evident and requires integrated approaches to human and animal health and their respective social and environmental contexts. The history of integrative thinking of human and animal health is briefly reviewed from early historical times, to the foundation of universities in Europe, up to the beginning of comparative medicine at the end of the 19th century. In the 20th century, Calvin Schwabe coined the concept of “one medicine”. It recognises that there is no difference of paradigm between human and veterinary medicine and both disciplines can contribute to the development of each other. Considering a broader approach to health and well-being of societies, the original concept of “one medicine” was extended to “one health” through practical implementations and careful validations in different settings. Given the global health thinking in recent decades, ecosystem approaches to health have emerged. Based on complex ecological thinking that goes beyond humans and animals, these approaches consider inextricable linkages between ecosystems and health, known as “ecosystem health”. Despite these integrative conceptual and methodological developments, large portions of human and animal health thinking and actions still remain in separate disciplinary silos. Evidence for added value of a coherent application of “one health” compared to separated sectorial thinking is, however, now growing. Integrative thinking is increasingly being considered in academic curricula, clinical practice, ministries of health and livestock/agriculture and international organizations. Challenges remain, focusing around key questions such as how does “one health” evolve and what are the elements of a modern theory of health? The close interdependence of humans and animals in their social and ecological context relates to the concept of “human-environmental systems”, also called “social-ecological systems”. The theory and practice of understanding and managing human activities in the context of social-ecological systems has been well-developed by members of The Resilience Alliance and was used extensively in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, including its work on human well-being outcomes. This in turn entails systems theory applied to human and animal health. Examples of successful systems approaches to public health show unexpected results. Analogous to “systems biology” which focuses mostly on the interplay of proteins and molecules at a sub-cellular level, a systemic approach to health in social-ecological systems (HSES) is an inter- and trans-disciplinary study of complex interactions in all health-related fields. HSES moves beyond “one health” and “eco-health”, expecting to identify emerging properties and determinants of health that may arise from a systemic view ranging across scales from molecules to the ecological and socio-cultural context, as well from the comparison with different disease endemicities and health systems structures.

Sustainable livelihoods and ecosystem health: exploring methodological relations as a source of synergy

Using ecohealth as a transdisciplinary lens to explore the connections among overlapping domains of inquiry, this article examines methodological relations between Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystem Health, two approaches for improving rural health and well-being. The experience of working on a project tasked with developing an integrated, systems-based approach for understanding the nature of rural livelihoods and ecosystems provides the base for analysis. Several key insights are discussed: The overarching goals of health and sustainability facilitate collaboration among disciplines; differences arise from how each approach operationalizes systems as variables and indicators; the dependent variables for one approach can be used as the independent variables for the other. In summary, while broad concepts like health and sustainability help transcend differences across disciplines and scales of analysis, variables and indicators cannot, as they are bound to how an observed system is operationalized. An advantage of using an ecohealth lens is that it creates conceptual and analytical spaces in which differences can be reconciled and used as sources of synergy. A source of synergy revealed in this article is the interdependence of variables used by each approach.

Urban ecosystem health assessment: a review

Due to the important role of cities for regional, national, and international economic development and the concurrent degradation of the urban environmental quality under rapid urbanization, a systematic diagnosis of urban ecosystem health for sustainable ecological management is urgently needed. This paper reviews the related research on urban ecosystem health assessment, beginning from the inception of urban ecosystem health concerns propelled by the development needs of urban ecosystems and the advances in ecosystem health research. Concepts, standards, indicators, models, and case studies are introduced and discussed. Urban ecosystem health considers the integration of ecological, economic, social and human health factors, and as such it is a value-driven concept which is strongly influenced by human perceptions. There is not an absolute urban ecosystem standard because of the uncertainty caused by the changing human needs, targets, and expectation of urban ecosystem over time; thus, suitable approaches are still needed to establish health standards of urban ecosystems. Several conceptual models and suitable indicator frameworks have been proposed to organize the multiple factors to represent comprehensively the health characteristics of an urban ecosystem, while certain mathematical methods have been applied to deal with the indicator information to get a clear assessment of the urban ecosystem health status. Instead of perceiving the urban ecosystem assessment as an instantaneous measurement of the health state, it is suggested to conceptualize the urban ecosystem health as a process, which impels us to focus more studies on the dynamic trends of health status and projecting possible development scenarios.

The ecohealth assessment and ecological restoration division of urban water system in Beijing

Evaluating six main rivers and six lakes in Beihuan water system (BWS) and diagnosing the limiting factors of eco-health were conducted for the ecohealth assessment and ecological restoration division of urban water system (UWS) for Beijing. The results indicated that Jingmi River and Nanchang River were in a healthy state, the degree of membership to unhealthy were 0.358, 0.392, respectively; while Yongding River, Beihucheng River, Liangma River, Tongzi River and six lakes were in an unhealthy state, their degree of membership to unhealthy were between 0.459 and 0.927. The order of that was Liangma > Beihucheng > Tongzi > Yongding > six lakes > Jingmi > Nanchang, in which Liangma Rivers of that was over 0.8. The problems of Rivers and lakes in BWS are different. Jingmi River and Nanchang River were ecotype limiting; Yongding River, Tongzi River and six lakes were water quality and ecotype limiting. Beihucheng River and Liangma River were water quantity, water quality and ecotype limiting. BWS could be divided into 3 restoration divisions, pollution control division including Yongding River, Tongzi River and six lakes; Jingmi River and Nanchang River were ecological restoration zone, while Beihucheng River and Liangma River were in comprehensive improvement zone. Restoration potentiality of Jingmi River and Nanchang River were higher, and Liangma River was hardest to restore. The results suggest a new idea to evaluate the impact of human and environmental factors on UWS.

Alien invasive vertebrates in ecosystems: pattern, process and the social dimension

The rate of biological invasions has increased dramatically over recent centuries. Alien invasive vertebrates have significant adverse effects on biodiversity, and island fauna are especially susceptible. Human-induced environmental change is likely to exacerbate these negative impacts of alien invasive species. However, invasion biology has advanced considerably over the last two decades, with improvement in understanding of the processes of establishment and spread. New developments in spatial modelling have elucidated the way in which behavioural processes at the individual level can drive population-level patterns such as spread. Combined with new genetic insights into the process of invasion, these advances may assist in the development of novel, better-targeted management strategies that provide new options in how to deal with the threat posed by invasive species. Decisions about whether to and how we should intervene are questions for all sectors of society, but research on the social and cultural impacts of invasive species is largely lacking. There are many opportunities for enhancing the social dimensions of invasive species research, and integrated assessments of the social, economic and environmental impacts of species provide one potential avenue. As part of this, there is also a need to increase stakeholder participation in the decision-making process regarding alien invasive species. These more holistic approaches are essential if we are to reduce the impact of alien invasive species to within acceptable limits in the face of rapid environmental change.

Protecting health using an environmental impact assessment: a case study of San Francisco land use decisionmaking

Laws and regulations for an environmental impact assessment enable a health impact assessment whenever physical changes in the environment may significantly affect health. In this case study, I describe 2 instances in which a local public health agency used the procedural requirements for an environmental impact assessment to account for societal-level health determinants that are not traditionally evaluated in land-use decisions. These examples show that a public health critique can contribute both to the scope of analysis in an environmental impact assessment and to substantive changes in land-use decisions. I have evaluated this health appraisal approach as a form of a health impact assessment and will make recommendations for law, research, and practice that support its technical, cultural, and political feasibility.

Assessing health of the Bay of Fundy--concepts and framework

A discussion of health and ecosystem health (EH) concepts and a conceptual framework for assessing health of the Bay of Fundy are presented. The framework includes:Concepts--What is health? What is EH and marine ecosystem health (MEH)? How does EH relate to other closely related concepts and principles i.e. environmental quality (especially marine or MEQ), ecosystem integrity, and ecosystem sustainability?Importance--Why is EH important, and what are the linkages to people i.e. human health?Approaches and techniques--How do we monitor and measure EH, and in that context, ecosystem or ecological change? i.e. What are the monitoring approaches and tools? What is an appropriate set of EH indicators and indices for the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine? At the present time, can we make unequivocal statements about the status and trends in EH measures of the Bay of Fundy? Do we have adequate guidelines, objectives and standards for assessing environmental quality and EH?Connecting with management needs--Do we have adequate mechanisms in place to address MEH, marine environmental quality (MEQ), and environmental sustainability in the Bay of Fundy? What is the role of periodic marine assessments (state of the marine environment reports) in this activity? What kinds of new directions and new ecosystem science should be given priority? What kinds of other new activities should be pursued?For the Bay of Fundy Coastal Forum at the recent 5th BOFEP Bay of Fundy Science Workshop (May 2002), five core questions flowing from the health framework served to initiate and focus the discussions:Current state--What is the present health or condition of the Bay of Fundy?Changes--Are conditions improving or deteriorating?Indicators--What kinds of indicators do we consider most useful in trying to answer these questions?Existing resources--Are there adequate resources (e.g. institutional, financial, scientific, regulatory) to protect or restore the health of the Bay?Needs--What kinds of new information and approaches do we need to protect the health of the Bay?The background information and ideas of this paper were intended to assist discussion at the Fundy workshop, and to help identify the next steps, both individual and collective, for assessing the health of the Bay of Fundy.