COHAB 2: second international conference on health and biodiversity 2008

The Second International Conference on Health and Biodiversity, will take place from Monday 25th to Thursday 28th February 2008 in Galway, Ireland. The conference will aim to advance dialogue and collaboration across sectors on issues linking biodiversity with human health and well-being, and highlight practical cross-sectoral and holistic approaches to addressing the issues.

COHAB 2 will review research and action on the links between health and biodiversity since the first COHAB conference in 2005, and highlight relevant developments in international and regional policies on biodiversity, public health and the MDGs. The outputs and impacts of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment will be discussed, while relationships with other multi-lateral projects on climate change, biodiversity conservation, human development and environmental sustainability will be examined.

The conference will work to produce a series of evidence-based reports on key issues, for consideration at subsequent multilateral meetings on the environment, health and development. The conference will mix broad discussions with presentations of individual case studies, highlighting examples where ecosystem approaches have been taken to address community health and welfare needs.