The 117th HGPI Seminar "The Impact of Biodiversity Loss on Health and Future Prospects"

Health and Global Policy Institution (HGPI) will be holding an HGPI seminar, taking into account the increased focus on the “One Health Approach” that considers not only humans but also animals and the environment as a whole in the G7 Hiroshima Summit and related ministerial meetings. Additionally, although it has already passed, May 22nd is designated as the International Day for Biological Diversity by the United Nations. Considering this, the seminar will be held under the theme of “From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity.”

The HGPI initiated the “Planetary Health Promotion Project” in 2022. The project aims to collaborate with multi-stakeholders to identify and deepen the understanding of the challenges Japan should address concerning “Planetary Health,” and disseminate this knowledge domestically and internationally, and create opportunities for the next steps.

As part of this project, we have held ongoing advisory board meetings where multi-stakeholders from industry, government, academia, and the private sector participate and discuss, and have prepared a report entitled “Issues Facing Planetary Health and the Role of the Health Sector.” In addition, on May 12, 2023, Nagasaki Planetary Health Expert Meeting “From COP27 and COP15 to the G7 Hiroshima Summit: New Partnerships for Solving Climate, Environment, Biodiversity and Health Issues” was held.

The loss of biodiversity has been recognized as an issue since the 1980s, but in recent years, it has gained a sense of urgency and importance through discussions at international conferences and other forums. Biodiversity continues to be greatly affected by changes in land and sea use, exploitation of natural resources, climate change, pollution, and the impact of invasive alien species, among other factors, and it continues to deteriorate year by year. Moreover, it has become evident that this loss of biodiversity has significant implications for human health, including its impact on food security, water quality, climate change, and the spread of infectious diseases.

The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-COP15), held in Montreal, Canada on December 19, 2022, adopted the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” and determined targets and measures for biodiversity by 2030. The indicators will be discussed at COP16, scheduled to take place in 2024. This framework has been recognized as a more ambitious agreement than the Nagoya Protocol, adopted at COP10 held in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010. However, the content of this Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework has not been widely recognized by citizens and the healthcare sector in Japan.

Therefore, this HGPI seminar welcomes Dr. Hiroya Yamano, Director of the Biodiversity Division of the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan (NIES). Dr. Yamano has been actively involved in various activities such as the Assessment Report on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Plan research and review work “Sectoral Working Groups regarding Impacts of Climate Change” and Breakout Group on LULUCF of the Committee for the Greenhouse Gases Emissions Estimation Methods. By clarifying the discussions held during COP15, this seminar provides a comprehensive opportunity to consider the points that need to be discussed when exploring the necessary initiatives within Japan and the world in preparation for the upcoming COP16.

*Please note that this seminar is available in Japanese only. An English report of this event will be published in due course.