The United Nations Environment Assembly,
Recalling General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which envisaged, among other things, a world in which humanity lives in harmony with nature and wildlife, and other living species are protected,
Recalling also the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, which aims to strengthen the framework for the financing of sustainable development and the means of implementation for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
Recalling further the new operational definition of “One Health” by the One Health High-Level Expert Panel of the Tripartite Alliance, comprising the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health and the United Nations Environment Programme,
Recalling United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 3/4 on environment and health, which notes that human, animal and plant health and the environment are interconnected,
Recalling Convention on Biological Diversity decision XIII/6 on biodiversity and human health and decision 14/4 on health and biodiversity,
Welcoming the holding of the first part of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China, from 11 to 15 October 2021, under the theme “Ecological civilization: building a shared future for all life on Earth”,
Looking forward to an ambitious, transformative, balanced, effective and practical post-2020 global biodiversity framework,
Taking note of ongoing discussions on the development of a global action plan for biodiversity and health under the Convention on Biological Diversity,
Taking note also of the recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Livestock Research Institute entitled Preventing the Next Pandemic: Zoonotic Diseases and How to Break the Chain of Transmission, 1 which demonstrates linkages between human activities and the emergence of novel zoonoses, and of the report by the World Health Organization and the Convention on Biological Diversity entitled Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health – A State of Knowledge Review, 2
Aware that effective sustainable use, conservation and restoration of biodiversity can result in improvements in health outcomes and benefits, and can be an effective means of promoting a healthier, more equitable and sustainable world, Recognizing that the interdependent crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are causing devastation and strain on health systems, including through the emergence of infectious and non-communicable diseases and increasing health inequalities,
Recognizing also that biodiversity loss poses threats to human, animal and ecosystem health, and that sustainably using, conserving and restoring biodiversity, ecosystems and their services can bring benefits for health and well-being,
Noting that the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme climate events, such as heatwaves, droughts and flooding, threaten not only human health, livelihoods and well-being but also animals, plants and ecosystems through impaired ecosystem functioning and reduced ecosystem services, and that areas with weak health infrastructure – primarily in developing countries – will be the least able to cope without support to prepare for and respond to such challenges,
Aware that antimicrobial resistance poses an increasing threat to global health and development, which requires continued multisectoral action across the One Health spectrum if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved,
Taking note of Convention on Biological Diversity decision 14/30 on cooperation with other conventions, international organizations and initiatives, which welcomes the initiative of Egypt to promote a coherent approach for addressing biodiversity loss, climate change, and land and ecosystem degradation,
Affirming that global health governance should be designed to help prevent, detect, better prepare for and respond to crises while addressing the inequities in global health and the need to strengthen health systems in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation,
Acknowledging that economic recovery from the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic will require more equitable health systems and improved access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines,
1. Requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, through the significant role played by the United Nations Environment Programme in the Tripartite Alliance, and with other relevant partners, to further assist Member States and members of specialized agencies in taking measures:
(a) To encourage actions that have positive benefits for the environment, given the links between human, animal and ecosystem health;
(b) To institute actions to enhance the availability, quality and timeliness of data for monitoring and surveillance, capacity and capability across One Health sectors, and support timely detection and responses to health risks linked to environmental factors, in accordance with national circumstances and priorities;
(c) To foster cooperation to address the impact of biodiversity loss, climate change and other related environmental crises to global health in accordance with the One Health approach;
(d) To foster cooperation in the context of pandemic preparedness, prevention and response and, more broadly, in the context of health-related research and development, including that involving genetic resources, while taking into account access and benefit-sharing frameworks, as appropriate;
2. Encourages Member States to mainstream and coordinate the sustainable use, conservation and restoration of biodiversity into sectoral policies and programmes to enhance ecosystem resilience, halt and reverse biodiversity loss, monitor and control invasive alien species, and promote food safety, with a view to preventing current and future health risks, including disease outbreaks with epidemic and pandemic potential;
3. Requests the Executive Director, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health, with all relevant stakeholders, to support Member States and members of specialized agencies in raising awareness of the drivers of biodiversity loss and their interlinkage with the emergence and spread of infectious and non-communicable diseases, and of the importance of investing in nature and ecosystem services related to human health, based on the best available science;
4. Requests the Executive Director, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health and other relevant partners, subject to the availability of financial resources, to support Member States and members of specialized agencies, upon their request, in assessing the environmental dimension of health and to highlight these matters in the forthcoming One Health joint plan of action;
5. Encourages Member States to foster cooperation to reduce the risk of and manage spillover events and zoonotic disease outbreaks, break the sequence of transmission, and rapidly and transparently respond to prevent epidemics and pandemics;
6. Also encourages Member States to promote the effective participation of developed and developing countries in health-related biotechnological research activities, including Member States that are in a position to provide the genetic resources for such research, consistent with national circumstances;
7. Further encourages Member States to work towards compliance with and implement access and benefit-sharing frameworks, where appropriate, to contribute to the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity, including in Member States that provide genetic resources for health-related research and development, consistent with national circumstances;
8. Invites Member States to strengthen links between the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and public health in sectoral policies and in accordance with the One Health approach in order to prevent, detect, better prepare for and respond to health risks, and to invest in enhancing the provision of ecosystem services related to health, taking into account, where appropriate, the recommendations of the One Health High-Level Expert Panel;
9. Encourages Member States to enhance international cooperation with a view to addressing the specific challenges faced by developing countries in implementing the One Health approach, including by strengthening capacity for health surveillance and promoting responses, in line with national circumstances and priorities;
10. Calls on Member States to reduce health risks associated with trade in live wildlife captured for the purposes of food, captive breeding, medicines and the pet trade, through regulation of their commerce and ensuring the sustainable and safe consumption of wild meat, including adequate sanitary controls in food markets where live wild animals are sold;
11. Invites Member States and others to provide, as appropriate, voluntary extrabudgetary financial resources to support the implementation of the present resolution;
12. Invites Member States, international financial institutions and other partners to enhance support, including resource mobilization for developing countries, including least developed countries and small island developing States, in their national efforts to address the environmental dimensions of health, including issues related to biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution, with a view to building more resilient health systems and strengthening pandemic preparedness, prevention, detection and response;
13. Invites all Member States and relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, to contribute to raising awareness and understanding of the importance of addressing antimicrobial resistance, given the threat that it poses, and to develop measures to tackle this global health issue, including through appropriate waste management of antimicrobials and related residues and mitigation against transmission of resistant bacteria and genes through the environment;
14. Invites all relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, to contribute to raising awareness and understanding of the environmental dimension of health and, in particular, to develop measures and actions for the sound management of waste and for addressing pollution.