The importance of biodiversity to human health: An ecological Perspective

Abstract

The Brazilian biodiversity is recognized as one of the most expressive in the terrestrial biosphere and plays an important role to human well-being and health, providing basic products and ecosystem services. The products or goods from natural ecosystems include pharmaceutical material, food such as fishery, timber, and many others. Natural ecosystems also provide essential life-supporting services such as purification of air and water, climate regulation, reproductive and feeding habitats for extractivism, as well as maintenance of organisms responsible for cycling soil nutrients, making them available to plant absorption. Environmental disruption has impacted human well being and health, resulting in severe social poverty with spread of diseases. Increasing in vector-borne and diseases in humans and animals occur as a result of negative anthropogenic interventions in the natural ecosystems.